
Book^3i±2LSS_ 



PRESENTED BY 



MEMOIR 
ALGERNON SYDNEY SULLIVAN 



C e H. Butler 

DEC go 1912 



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jZt^Z^&O s*7* *Z*z^££<-^s~<&>c x , 



A MEMOIR 



ALGERNON SYDNEY SULLIVAN 

TOGETHER WITH 

MEMORIAL TRIBUTES 

COLLECTED AND ARRANGED BY HIS SON 

GEORGE H. SULLIVAN 

a 51 tfranfe mp 43ob upon eton-p rememfctance of pou." 

52? 






NEW-YORK 

THE DE VINNE PRESS 

1890 



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FOR MY FATHER'S FRIENDS 

I HAVE HERE GATHERED WHAT SOME OF THEM HAVE SAID OF HIM. 

IT IS MY HOPE 

THAT THESE WORDS, LOVING AND APPRECIATIVE, 

WILL IN SOME DEGREE 

RECALL TO THEM THE MAN THEY KNEW. 

GEORGE H. SULLIVAN. 



%aWt of Content** 

PAGE 

MEMOIR 9 

MEMORIAL TRIBUTES : 

Extracts from New-York Evangelist, Dec. 
20, 1888, by Rev. RICHARD D. 
Harlan 40 

Memorial Resolutions 68 

Extracts from Memorial Addresses ...... 90 

Extracts from Newspapers 117 



Algernon £pimep £uliitoan* 

ALGERNON SYDNEY SULLIVAN, 
. the subject of this memoir, was de- 
scended from an old Irish family, long settled 
in the vicinity of Cork, but transplanted to 
America about a hundred years ago. Thomas 
Lyttleton Sullivan, the son of an Irish bar- 
rister, came to America from Charleville, 
County Cork, Ireland, and settled in Augusta 
County, Virginia, where in March, 1791, he 
married Margaret Irwin, a daughter of James 
Irwin. Margaret Irwin was of Scotch descent, 
a woman of strong character and deeply re- 
ligious nature, whose influence left an indel- 
ible impression upon her only son and his 
children. This son, Jeremiah, was born in 
Rockingham County, Virginia, in 1794. His 
father, a devout Catholic, intended him for 



ro Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

the priesthood of that Church, and he spared 
no means to fit him for that vocation. After 
a boyhood spent in study he was sent to 
William and Mary College at Williamsburg, 
Virginia, where he was graduated with honor, 
and at once he chose the profession of the 
law. His studies were interrupted by a 
u wayward fancy " for participation in the 
war with Great Britain, and he served in two 
volunteer expeditions in 1813-14, and subse- 
quently received a commission in the United 
States Army for " bravery and good conduct." 
This commission, at the urgent wish of his 
parents, he declined, and he then resumed 
his legal studies. Upon receiving, in 1816, 
a license to practice law, Jeremiah Sullivan 
determined to remove to the West, and after 
a horseback journey to Indiana he selected 
for his home the beautiful little town of 
Madison. To this place the family removed 
in 1817, and here Jeremiah soon brought his 
young bride, Charlotte Rudesel Cutler of 
Virginia. In this home the tranquil autumnal 
years of the elders and the whole married life 
of the younger couple were passed. It saw 
the birth of their eleven children to Jeremiah 



Memoir. 1 1 

and Charlotte Sullivan, and from its doors, 
in fullness of time, the grandparents first and 
then the parents passed to their rest. 

Algernon Sydney Sullivan, second son of 
Judge Jeremiah and Charlotte Rudesel -Sul- 
livan, was born in Madison, Indiana, April 5, 
1826. He was a delicate child, and he early 
showed a devotion to books. At the age of 
nine he began to receive instruction in Eng- 
lish and Latin, under the care of Mr. Ros- 
well Elms, an Englishman, a teacher of 
uncommon classical attainments. Judge 
Sullivan possessed literary taste and ability, 
and both at home and in school his son 
Algernon was led to a close study of the 
best authors, to habits of direct, logical think- 
ing, and to forms of almost classical expres- 
sion. These accomplishments grew with his 
growth. During the years when Judge Sul- 
livan sat upon the Supreme Bench of Indiana, 
his brother Justices, Blackford and Dewey, 
were frequent guests at his home, and the 
unrestrained companionship of a trio so 
illustrious was an invaluable training to 
young Algernon, who was already beginning 
to dream of the future, and to question 



12 Algernon Sydney Sullivan, 

whether he should choose the profession that 
his father loved and adorned. 

Outside of his own home the pulsing life of 
this almost frontier town offered to the alert 
mind and budding imagination of Algernon 
many and varied opportunities for the observa- 
tion and study of his fellow-man. Many 
streams of travel passed through Madison. 
Currents from the East bearing emigrants 
from the Old World, hopeful of prosperity 
in the New, met the counter currents of 
returning pioneers, to whom the alluring 
fields of Eldorado had yielded only the dross 
of disappointment. Texans, who still boasted 
of the Alamo, victors from the fields of 
Mexico, delegations of Indians seeking the 
Great Father in Washington, fugitive slaves 
fleeing northward for liberty — all had but 
one highway to their various destinations, 
the waters of the beautiful river that flowed 
by Madison. Much drift-wood lodged there, 
but all that came, went, or stayed only added 
to the wealth of memories and impulses 
which the poetical imagination and fervid 
nature of Algernon were now absorbing. 
This observation of many sorts of men awoke 



Memoir. 13 

in the youth, now approaching manhood, an 
intense love for his race, a boundless sym- 
pathy with unfortunate members of it, and a 
profound faith in the power of active human 
sympathy. 

At seventeen Algernon entered Hanover 
College, at South Hanover, Indiana, then 
under the presidency of Dr. McMasters, an 
able teacher. The next year Dr. McMasters 
accepted the presidency of Miami University, 
at Oxford, Ohio, and to that place the boy 
followed him, and there he was graduated in 
1845. During the last year of college life 
Algernon was in frail health, and the letters 
that he then received from his parents ex- 
press great anxiety in regard to his condition. 
Upon one of these solicitous letters is the 
following note in his handwriting : " A father 
once wrote on the back of his son's portrait, 
* He never caused me to sigh except when 
he left home. May God bless him.' I would 
give a right eye if the same could be said of 
me. My constant endeavor shall be, hence- 
forth, to live worthy of such a father as my 
own, by practicing obedience to what I know 
to be duty, and particularly by exercising a 



14 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

prudent and cautious self-control and avoid- 
ing all disingenuousness." This voice from 
his youth speaks clearly the aspirations of 
Algernon Sullivan's soul in that formative 
period, and it shows that the practice of 
those virtues that marked his whole life was 
the result of a solemn purpose, early formed 
and faithfully held to. 

After leaving college Mr. Sullivan began 
the study of law under his father's direction, 
and during the next four years lived in his 
father's house. A letter, from one who was 
acquainted with that home and its influences, 
here pictures his surroundings at that time: 



134 Rush Street, 
Chicago, Jan. 14, 1889. 

My dear Mr. Sullivan : 

I enjoyed the article written as a tribute of mem- 
ory by the Rev. Richard D. Harlan. It awakened 
thoughts of the past — of my childhood days. Your 
grandfather's home, the long side porches, the run- 
ning roses, the honeysuckles, the walk from the 
garden gate, bordered by the potted hydrangea, which 
led our willing feet to the home room ; the room 
where we, who were daily visitors, were sure to find 



Memoir. 1 5 

our way. Rare was the occasion when we found 
your grandmother out of her "old arm-chair. ,, The 
windows, too, with their broad sills, were never free 
from growing plants. The bedstead with its testered 
top, hung with its dainty curtains, the open fire-place, 
and a chair corresponding to the one already occupied, 
ready and waiting for your grandfather. We knew 
his step; and his quiet, dignified manner, instead of 
awing us in our childish glee, was a kind of a bene- 
diction. It was not frequent, but an occasional treat, 
when your great-grandmother would let us don her 
every-day dresses and play " come to see," watching 
with delight the trains we dragged around the floors, 
and your Uncle Jerry as doctor, with his box of mud 
pills, would insist that we were sick and needed a 
panacea; and to elude the dreaded ordeal, that he 
would try to enforce, would drive us each to our 
respective homes. 

I can never remember a time that your father was 
not a leader in the Sunday-school, and to have list- 
ened to his Fourth of July oration was as necessary to 
our happiness as was the ginger cake and lemonade 
to our hunger. For in those days patriotism was a 
religious rite. For months before, would we bespeak 
our partners for the march through the street. How- 
times and customs change; but the memory, even if it 
provokes laughter, is an emerald in a diamond setting. 
And in the long journey we have made since then, 
I am sincere in saying at no wayside inn have I 
ever found a more goodly company, neither have I 
overtaken on the road man, woman, or child, who 



1 6 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

have blotted from my memory the noble traits, the 
fine sense of humor, the sunny hours, that we found 
in your grandfather's home. 

Sincerely yours, 

Eleonora Hunt. 

Two breaks occurred in the life of Mr. 
Sullivan as a law-student : one a winter visit 
to the South, in which he was accompanied 
by his mother, and from which he returned 
benefited in health, and one, a tour of his 
native State, in the course of which he made 
his first continuous efforts in public speaking. 
At this time the subject of public education 
was attracting much attention, and the ex- 
pediency of adding to the taxation of the 
State for the support of schools was a matter 
which divided the opinion of the people of 
Indiana. Mr. Sullivan had studied the ques- 
tion in its broad relation to the needs of a 
country whose government is of the people, 
and he was ardently in favor of a better and 
ampler public school system. At the age of 
twenty we find him enlisted in a cause that 
commanded his interest to his latest hours. 
In support of this idea he " stumped " Indi- 
ana, speaking in all the doubtful counties, 



Memoir. 



17 



and speaking with an earnestness and elo- 
quence that gained for him the title of the 
" young Demosthenes." 

After having been licensed to practice law 
Mr. Sullivan removed in the spring of 1849 
to Cincinnati. Here the progress and inci- 
dents of the first year after his removal are 
but similar to the struggles of hundreds of 
young men upon the threshold of a professional 
career, with, in his case, the exception of an 
active participation in what are deemed 
public affairs. The same questions that had 
excited his earliest interest while a youth 
here presented themselves even more forcibly 
to his attention as he grew into thoughtful 
manhood. Early in his residence in Cincin- 
nati, Mr. Sullivan became a working member 
of the School Board, a member of the Com- 
mon Council, one of the board of directors 
of the House of Refuge, and a corporate 
member of the Historical Society. His church 
work was done in association with the Second 
Presbyterian Church, then under the pasto- 
rate of Dr. Fisher. 

On January 2, 185 1, Algernon S. Sullivan 
was married to Mary Slocum Groesbeck, 
3 



1 8 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

third daughter of John Groesbeck of Cincin- 
nati, and thus the strongest tie was formed 
that could bind him to the home of his adop- 
tion. Such a union with a woman of personal 
loveliness and sweet character gave every 
promise of happiness; but in September of 
the same year all these promises were 
blighted, and an overwhelming grief came to 
Mr. Sullivan in the death of his beloved 
young wife. In this bereavement he sought 
composure and resignation in the duties of 
a religious life, in devotion to study, and in 
public questions — carrying into every occu- 
pation the earnestness of purpose that marked 
all his conduct to the last. * At the same 
time, and at all times, his life was one of 
strenuous application to his profession, by 
which he was advancing to an enviable rank 
among the younger members of the Cincin- 
nati Bar. As a public-spirited citizen, Mr. 
Sullivan stood among the first in that city. 

Thirty-five years ago America was not so 
much visited by distinguished Europeans 
as it is now. Then, when a man from a 
struggling nation came to us for inspiration 
and encouragement we received him with 



Memoir. 



x 9 



enthusiasm. About that time Kossuth, a 
knowledge of whose sufferings in the cause 
of his native land, associated with the charm 
of his fervid oratory, had made him a popular 
hero, arrived in New-York. His coming 
caused popular commotion wherever he ap- 
peared. Mr. Sullivan was sent by the people 
and corporate authorities of Cincinnati to 
convey to the Hungarian patriot their con- 
gratulations upon his release from imprison- 
ment and to proffer the hospitality of their 
city; and the New- York " Times " of De- 
cember 19, 1851, says that "at the close of 
Kossuth's reply to Mr. Sullivan's eloquent 
address the Governor received Mr. Sullivan 
with greater cordiality than we have seen him 
exhibit toward any other delegate." This 
incident illustrates a strongly-marked trait of 
Mr. Sullivan's nature — earnest desire to offer 
public recognition of the noble aspirations 
and achievements of other men. 

Reference to the letters received by Mr. 
Sullivan between the years 1851-56, shows 
him actively working with the Whig party, 
in whose political creed he had been reared, 
and to which he had given in early manhood 



20 Algernon Sydney Sullivan, 

his devoted support. The repeal of the 
Missouri Compromise, generally called the 
Kansas-Nebraska Act, consolidated most of 
the Whigs of the North, together with men of 
that section and of the West who more dis- 
tinctively represented the anti-slavery senti- 
ment, into a political organization which 
assumed the name of the Republican party. 
The principles of this new party had made 
great headway in Ohio. With Salmon P. 
Chase for their standard-bearer the Republi- 
can party, in 1855, made its first fight for the 
governorship of Ohio and was successful. 
Mr. Sullivan, after careful study of the points 
then in dispute, looked upon the aims of the 
new organization as sectional, not national, 
and therefore gave his preference and alle- 
giance to the party whose principles, as he 
believed, regarded the needs of the whole 
Union \ and in this faith he entered the field 
as a campaign speaker against the Republican 
party and its candidate for the governorship 
of Ohio. He had looked forward to spend- 
ing a part of this year in England ; but cir- 
cumstances changed this plan, and he devoted 
himself to excursions through Ohio for the 



Memoir. 2 1 

purpose of political speaking, and in journeys 
to Virginia. 

On December 13, 1855, Algernon S. Sulli- 
van was married at Winchester, Virginia, to 
Mary Mildred Hammond, eldest daughter of 
George W. Hammond of that town, who, 
after thirty-two years of happy, useful, and 
honored life at his side, survives him. 

Ill health compelled Mr. Sullivan to forego 
social engagements during the winter of 1855- 
56, but his many serious occupations received 
earnest attention. A letter from one who at 
that time entered on the study of law in his 
office gives so perfect a portrayal of the 
daily life and of the influence of Mr. Sullivan 
that it is gratefully inserted here. 



Office of John W: Foster, 1405 I Street N. W., 
Washington, D. C, Jan. 14, 1889. 

Dear Mrs. Sullivan : 

It gave me great pleasure on my return home a 
few days ago to find the life-like photograph of your 
dear departed husband, and I desire to thank you 
very heartily for favoring me with it. I have had it 
hung in my office where I can daily look upon the 
face of the friend to whom I owe so much and who 



22 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

commanded so great a measure of my respect and 
esteem. 

The photograph carried me back in memory thirty- 
two years to the time when I was a student in his 
office in Cincinnati. I well remember the very cordial 
greeting he gave me when I presented the letters 
from his friends in Indiana commending me to his 
care, and I cherish with gratitude the recollection of 
the interest he took in my professional advancement. 
The characteristics in him which most impressed me 
at that time were the warm interest he took in young 
men, his whole-souled hospitality, and his consistent 
Christian life. By his daily conduct he taught me 
that it was possible to be a successful lawyer and at 
the same time an active and devoted follower of 
Christ; and it was this silent lesson that was the 
most valuable and lasting instruction I received in 
his office. The influence which he thus exerted all 
through life in his profession has been an achieve- 
ment of greater merit and honor than all the forensic 
and legal triumphs which he gained during his long 
career. His work is done ; but he still lives in the 
characters of the many who learned of him what are 
the truest elements of professional success and use- 
fulness. . . . Yours truly, 

John W. Foster. 

The summer of 1856 brought severe finan- 
cial disaster to the United States. The 
unsettled condition of politics, North and 



Memoir, 



23 



South, caused depression in all business, but 
especially in that of the new States of the 
Northwest. Mr. Sullivan had made invest- 
ments in those new industrial centers and he 
suffered heavy losses by their prostration and 
ultimate failure. Realizing that he must start 
anew, he determined to make that start in 
New- York. The metropolitan spirit which 
distinguishes New-York from every other 
American city had always attracted Mr. Sul- 
livan, and a desire to share its privileges and 
mingle in its activities was not new to him. 
The deciding impulse, however, to remove 
thither was given at this time. In May, 
1857, he became a resident of New-York. 
He was admitted to the Bar upon motion of 
Daniel Lord, and from that time he threw 
himself with all the ardor of his nature into 
the duties of his profession and into politi- 
cal life. The first years of Mr. Sullivan's 
residence in New- York, if not filled with 
remunerative work, were far from being idle 
years. Though not many lucrative clients 
found their way to his modest office, yet his 
spirit of courageous helpfulness was making 
itself felt, and he was sought as one possessing 



24 Algernon Sydney Sullivan, 

both the desire and the ability to originate and 
accomplish schemes of public interest as well 
as a wise counsellor and friend in private 
affairs. 

In the summer of 1858 Mr. Sullivan aided 
in organizing the civic ceremonies incident to 
the removal of the remains of James Monroe 
from New- York to their final grave in Rich- 
mond, Virginia. A twofold impulse prompted 
him to this pious work. First, he saw in it 
an opportunity of testifying to national rever- 
ence for one of the purest and ablest of Ameri- 
can Presidents, and secondly, he saw that this 
occasion was one for a united and fraternal 
action on the part of the North and South, 
calculated to restore, if but in a slight degree, 
the essential bond of cordiality between two 
sections of the Union. Mr. Sullivan, as al- 
ready intimated, became a Democrat in 1855. 
In this as in every other step of his public life he 
went where conscience and patriotism called 
him. The principles of the Democratic party 
offered, in his judgment, the surest guarantee 
of a continuance of a policy that had made 
the American Republic a powerful nation. 
When the civil war burst upon the coun- 



Memoir. 25 

try he remained with that political party from 
which he hoped the most speedy and con- 
stitutional settlement of national disputes. 
Yielding to no one in devotion to the Union 
and in abhorrence of slavery, he clung as long 
as was possible to the hope of a cementing 
of the one and abolishing of the other with- 
out bloodshed. The thought of disunion of 
the States of America was intolerable to 
him. 

A striking episode occurred in Mr. Sulli- 
van's life, at the outbreak of the civil war, — as 
related in the American Bar Association Me- 
morial, — showing his independence and his 
fortitude where a principle was to be vin- 
dicated. In 1 86 1 Mr. Sullivan had been 
retained by the Confederate States as counsel 
for the officers and crew of the schooner 
Savannah, then prisoners in New- York under 
a charge of piracy. The case came before 
Judge Nelson and Judge Shipman in the 
Circuit Court of the United States, on July 
17, 1861, and Mr. Sullivan appeared for 
Captain Baker. The illness of Judge Nelson 
caused a postponement until the following 
October; but in this interval Mr. Sullivan 
4 



26 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

was suddenly arrested on a charge of dis- 
loyalty to the United States Government 
and was imprisoned in Fort Lafayette. This 
proceeding called forth vigorous protests from 
many of the first jurists of the country, some 
of them friends to the Administration, declar- 
ing the arrest to be a public outrage, and com- 
pletely justifying Mr. Sullivan's course as 
counsel, both to his client and to the State. 
After a short imprisonment he was released, 
quite as unexpectedly as he had been arrested, 
and two days later he appeared in Court 
among his distinguished associates in the trial 
of the case which had led to his being made 
a prisoner. His triumph was absolute and 
complete. 

One other incident, remembered by many, 
of this period of Mr. Sullivan's life illustrates 
a quality which he possessed in a high degree, 
intrepid courage in danger when duty called 
him to face it. This incident occurred during 
the Draft Riots in the summer of 1863, when 
thousands of the unemployed of the city made 
a formidable and lawless protest against the 
system of drafting by which the armies were 
then being recruited. The city seemed at 



Memoir. 27 

their mercy, and they committed many acts 
of wanton cruelty and violence. 

One of these armed and furious bands of 
rioters, marching up Fifth Avenue, was at- 
tracted by the palatial appearance of the 
home of Dr. Thomas Ward, at the corner of 
Fifth Avenue and Forty-seventh Street, one of 
the most beautiful and luxurious homes of the 
city, and with angry outcries and denuncia- 
tions the rioters prepared to attack it. 

In their apprehension it occurred to one of 
the ladies of the family to send to Mr. Sulli- 
van's home, then in Forty-fifth Street, and 
ask him to come to their help. 

He went instantly, and found Dr. Ward 
defending, unaided, the entrance to his house, 
the iron gate and railing of which the mad- 
dened crowd were battering down. Mr. 
Sullivan gained the portico, and facing the 
leaders of the mob, addressed them such 
earnest, eloquent words upon their duty as 
men and citizens that finally he persuaded 
them to withdraw. 

In speaking of this trying moment of their 
lives, Dr. Ward and the niece who fetched 
Mr. Sullivan invariably attributed the preser- 



28 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

vation of their home to the influence of his 
presence and efforts. 

In 1870 Mr. Sullivan was appointed Assist- 
ant District Attorney for the City of New- 
York, which office he held until 1873, when 
he resigned it for the more congenial field of 
private practice. In his professional labors 
Mr. Sullivan found great enjoyment. The 
study of law was a mental occupation with 
which he never became satiated. Its practice 
called into active use many of his highest 
gifts. When he sought recreation it was 
usually in the direction of matters and occa- 
sions of public interest, charitable or artistic, 
and educative in aim. From his coming to 
reside in New- York to the last weeks of his 
life, there is no year's record unmarked by 
some such work. His enthusiasm and hope- 
fulness in all good undertakings were in- 
exhaustible ; and though by failure or partial 
defeat of high endeavors this hopefulness 
often received a shock, the remembrance of 
the pain was but transient, while the noble 
faith remained perennial. 

In 1875 Mr. Sullivan was appointed Public 
Administrator of the City of New- York, and 



Memoir. 29 

that appointment he held ten years, resign- 
ing it in 1885. From this time he declined 
office, but he by no means ceased to be a 
public worker. His large sympathy, his pure 
and vehement spirit, and his varied talents 
gave to him an anomalous position in the 
community, and he continued to be sought 
by enterprises that needed such gifts. Many 
who now recall his numerous and various 
services to causes and occasions of public 
interest can understand the emotion of a 
friend who, as he listened to one of Mr. 
Sullivan's public speeches, said with admira- 
tion, " How is it that Mr. Sullivan does every- 
thing and does it all well ? " It was his 
intense sympathy with his fellow-men and 
his ardent wish to help them that made this 
possible. Persons seeing him but a few times 
were so encouraged by his power to cheer 
that they have remembered him as exerting 
a crowning personal influence upon their 
lives. After his death a sensitive young 
woman said, " I saw him but once, and he 
spoke two words to me ; but such was the 
influence of his approving and encouraging 
smile that ever since, in seasons of despond- 



30 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

ency, his face has come back to me and he 
has been my inspiration towards self-improve- 
ment. How I wish I had ever had courage 
to tell him this ! " 

In no man was the sense stronger of the 
brotherhood of the human race; Jew or 
Gentile, bond or free, all were the children 
of the same father. " I am a man and a 
stranger to nothing human " was a constantly 
recurring strain in the beautiful harmony of 
his thought and life. This sentiment, en- 
larged and somewhat varied, is repeated in 
many of the extracts and quotations found 
jotted down in his handwriting on scraps of 
paper, — the backs of envelopes, etc., in his 
pockets, his desk, the drawers of his office 
table, — all showing the direction of his daily 
thoughts and aspirations. Upon a worn and 
yellow sheet is the following : " The realiza- 
tion of the Ideal Life is the great design of 
God, and the great work of man. The ad- 
vancement and elevation of Humanity is 
most surely promoted by whatever best and 
permanently develops the individual man. It 
is by the enlightened and disinterested service 
of his fellow beings that he most surely 



Memoir. 3 1 

strengthens and idealizes his own nature. 
The hero has here a field of conquest as- 
signed to him in which he need fear no defeat 
and will not have to weep over tarnished or 
dear-bought victory. He is a fellow-worker 
with God." 

"The aspiring and spiritual will be at 
home in the Father's House. The bless- 
ings pronounced upon the meek, the mourn- 
ers, the merciful, are nothing compared to 
that pronounced upon the 'pure in heart: 
they shall see God.' " In these thoughts is 
seen the source of Mr. Sullivan's ennobling 
influence over his fellow-men. 

The Golden Rule — this was his guide in 
all actions. A short time before his death, 
a gentleman, with whom he fell into a talk 
about politics as they met on the street, 
tells that as they separated he said, " Well, 
I know of no better guide in politics — as 
in everything else — than the Golden Rule." 

So his years passed, each bringing to him 
ampler recognition, fuller professional occu- 
pation, a larger horizon to his Christian 
optimism, and a broader field for his labors 
of love and charity. His soul growing into 



32 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

a cheerful serenity informed his character 
with an unusual poise of manly virtues : his 
life was a daily exposition of love to God 
and to man. It is not too much to say that 
he daily took upon himself heavy burdens of 
the troubles of other men, and not many days 
passed in which he did not clear away some 
perplexity from a less happy life, or strengthen 
the character of some weaker fellow-man. 
Loving, working, rejoicing, he passed to his 
eternal rest. 

On Thanksgiving day, November 25, 1887, 
Mr. Sullivan had gathered around him all the 
members of his family within reach, and he 
was as ever the center of the cheerful enjoy- 
ment always kindled by his presence. How 
precious is the recollection of that morning 
to all who gathered around his board, and 
how imperishable the picture of his beaming 
face ! No omen of the swiftly coming sor- 
row darkened the brightness of that day. On 
the following Saturday Mr. Sullivan while at 
his office was attacked by a chill. He was 
brought home, a physician was summoned, 
and all was done that could be done in his 
behalf. A short illness of nine days followed. 



Memoir. 33 

during which the patient invalid was gently, 
almost painlessly, led to " the bound of life 
where we lay our burdens down." Amid the 
holy quiet of a Sabbath evening, December 
4, 1887, the strong, loving heart ceased to 
beat. The period of this faithful servant's 
earthly labor was reached. His reward had 
begun. 



Upon the various fields in which Mr. Sulli- 
van wrought he has left a deep impression, 
and he came from each of them bearing with 
him a sheaf of love. Appreciative words 
have been spoken of his many endowments 
and their noble use ; but those who knew him 
best think of him, not as the great lawyer, 
the brilliant orator, the man of artistic taste, 
with a charm and sympathy that drew all 
hearts; but they love to dwell upon him as 
a man — as one whose development shows 
to what heights human nature can attain 
when consecrated to the service of God and 
man. 



34 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

Two sketches commemorative of Mr. Sul- 
livan are here printed to conclude this Memoir, 
because taken together they seem to constitute 
an adequate and faithful portraiture of his 
remarkable character and his noble and be- 
neficent life. The first is by a brother lawyer, 
written shortly after Mr. Sullivan's death, parts 
of which were published in a Memorial then 
issued by the American Bar Association: 
" Mr. Sullivan was distinctively a lawyer, by 
heritage from his eminent father, by a natural 
judicial cast of mind, by a cultivated and 
liberal legal education. His other accom- 
plishments and works, distinguished and 
varied as they were, were only secondary to 
his profession. The law was his life work 
and his life love as well. Not a lawyer in 
the commonplace acceptation, he was a legal 
guide, practical, wise, judicial, with exquisite 
tact, with infinite patience, with a sense of 
equity almost intuitive. Adversary and client 
alike felt the power of his lucid, conscien- 
tious, wise advice. His natural talents and his 
attainments especially fitted him for the nisi 
prius practice, and he was recognized as one 
of the strongest, readiest, and most successful 



Memoir. 35 

jury lawyers at the Bar. His learning and 
tastes were so varied, however, that he was 
equally accomplished in the conduct of the 
practical and daily duties of his profession. 
For thirty years in the city of his adoption, 
and for ten years in the State of his early 
labors, he was a working lawyer, and it was 
in this aspect that he most loved to be re- 
garded. The law was a great mother to him, 
and he studied its philosophy, he pictured its 
principles with such love, wisdom, and fair- 
ness that no lawyer envied the preeminent 
rank which he attained and so easily held. 
It is fair to say that no lawyer, however great 
his fame, was regarded by the Bench with 
greater confidence and esteem. The Bench 
itself was not more sensitive than he to its 
dignity and honor. His life, his virtues, his ju- 
dicial quality, unwavering honesty, and legal 
acumen led all judges to receive his words 
almost as those of a friend of the court — not 
merely as those of an advocate. No lawyer 
equaled him in the affection and admiration 
of the Bar. No other lawyer occupied so 
peculiarly interesting a place in their hearts. 
He was ever the obliging friend, the fair ad- 



36 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

versary, or the alert coadjutor. While other 
great names may claim equality with his in 
the ranks of the profession, among the judi- 
ciary, in the councils of the Nation, it is only 
laying upon his bier the laurel of justice to 
say that no lawyer of his day attained so high 
a place in all these fields of activity. A great 
lawyer, a wise counselor, a charming and 
convincing orator, a statesman wise in coun- 
cil and fearless in declaration, a philanthro- 
pist in the broadest sense of the word, active 
(but as a recreation only) in matters of liter- 
ature, art, music, and the lighter graces of 
life, his talents, virtues, and accomplishments 
made his life one beautiful and instructive to 
contemplate and glorious to emulate." 

The second of these commemorative 
sketches was written by William Winter, and 
no better estimate of Mr. Sullivan's equip- 
ment, his work, and his nature can be given 
than that conveyed by these discriminating 
words, now published for the first time: 
" It is a significant fact with reference to 
the character of Algernon S. Sullivan that, 
even by those who knew him only at a dis- 
tance, he is remembered first with love and 



Memoir. 37 

then with admiration. He possessed in un- 
usual measure the capacity to inspire affec- 
tion. This result was due in part to personal 
charm and in part to the influence of his 
great humanity. His aspect was that of 
an almost austere natural dignity, but also 
it was that of exquisite gentleness and benev- 
olence. He had intuitive knowledge of the 
good qualities in the character of every per- 
son with whom he came in contact. His 
mental vision was so broad that he could see 
all around every object at which he looked. 
Life in his eyes was a great drama, in which 
every man and woman has to play a part; 
and his sense of the relation of persons and 
things was unerring in its keenness and truth. 
Although his heart was warm, his judgment 
was always devoid of passion. He was aware 
of the infirmities of human nature. He never 
wished to relinquish any one as hopelessly 
wrong and bad. No one could pass beyond 
the pale of his charity. He always saw the 
redeeming trait and the extenuating circum- 
stance. He understood the condition and 
the feelings of all classes of persons. He met 
the world with sympathy. He recognized 



38 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

merits before he looked at faults, and as 
his spirit was manifestly pure and perfectly- 
sincere, his conduct straightforward, his 
manner gentle, and his industry incessant in 
doing good, he naturally called forth the 
good qualities of those who came within the 
scope of his influence. His courtesy was 
intuitive, and neither care, worry, haste, 
responsibility, nor pain could make him un- 
mindful or neglectful of the consideration 
rightfully due to every human creature. If 
ever man acted upon Hamlet's precept, ' Use 
them after your own honor and dignity/ Mr. 
Sullivan was that man. Such a nature could 
not fail to be loved, and as this lovable tem- 
perament was associated with mental quali- 
ties equally valuable and brilliant, he was in 
a kindred way respected and admired. His 
learning was varied and exact. His elo- 
quence was natural, fluent, sweet, persuasive, 
often impassioned, always guided by pure 
taste, harmonious with reason, and directed 
upon noble objects. His veneration for the 
.law and his high sense of moral responsibility 
invested his manner with a peculiar grace of 
splendid distinction ; and this combined with 



Memoir. 39 

accuracy of legal knowledge, lucidity of state- 
ment, felicity of illustration, and copiousness 
of vocabulary made him one of the most 
impressive orators of the American Bar. In 
literature he had ample resources, a light and 
gracious touch, and the rare faculty of taste. 
His political creed was the honor of Ameri- 
can citizenship and the welfare of his fellow- 
men, and perhaps the essential principle of 
his public life may be best expressed in his 
own memorable declaration that < No man 
ca?i truly serve his country to the best of his 
power who has not in his mind all the time a 
service still higher than that of his country? " 



Algernon £ptmep £ttfliiian. 



IB? Wit*. Kiclwa ax Harlan. 

N. Y. Evangelist, Dec. 30, 1888. 



" His was the tribe of God Almighty's gentlemen.'* 

— Dryden. 

IT is now many months since Mr. Sullivan 
fell asleep, and these simple lines of trib- 
ute to his memory may seem all too tardy, as 
indeed they are. But the vacancy he left in 
numerous enterprises which had for their 
object the helping and ennobling and beauti- 
fying of the common life of the metropolis, 
and the aching void in the lives of many men 
and women over the land whom he had 
linked to himself in closest friendship, would 
give a responsive audience at any time to one 
who would speak of him. 
40 





j£^^i^c^O s*7- /t^^^^-^^^^f r 



Me?norial Tributes. 41 

Immediately after his death the secular 
journals had much to say from their stand- 
point, by way of praise of his career and work. 
But for the honor of Jesus Christ, such a man 
should not drop out of the ranks of the 
Church Militant without some public atten- 
tion being called to his life and influence from 
a religious point of view; and although there 
are many who would be far better qualified 
to tell of his worth, yet as the minister of that 
venerable Church of which he was a devoted 
and consistent member, a strong pillar, and a 
shining ornament, I feel constrained to take 
this opportunity of putting on record some 
impressions of the man as many saw him. 

In the warfare waged by the King's army 
against the wickedness of this world there is 
need for all kinds of service and all types of 
Christians. We are very apt in these days of 
multiform ecclesiastical machinery and ac- 
tivities, to accord the chief honor only to 
those men, laymen as well as ministers, who 
give most of the energies of their life to the 
direct work of Christianizing their fellow-men. 
The current standards of religious "useful- 
ness " : are so cast-iron and conventional that we 
6 



42 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

often fail to recognize the distinguished and 
incalculable services rendered to that cause,, 
which is so dear to the heart of Christ and of 
His people, in another part of the field of 
battle — in that part which is popularly known 
as " the world." This service is rendered by 
an entirely different type of disciple, by men 
who are not conspicuously identified in the 
mind of the general public with religious 
work, who, on the contrary, are mainly dis- 
tinguished in purely secular circles ; but who 
exhibit in these worldly spheres the spirit of 
Christ and of our holy religion. It is well that 
all disciples are not of the one type, and we 
cannot be too thankful for the existence of 
Christian men and women of the world, whose 
main efforts seem to be, and indeed are, in 
the world, but the true source of whose life is 
" hid with Christ in God." Such a man was 
Algernon Sydney Sullivan; and if there are 
any distinctions in the Church Triumphant, 
such as hold among men, we reverently be- 
lieve that in the Great Captain's welcome, 
" Well done, good and faithful servant," this 
disciple has received an heavenly knighthood 



Memorial Tributes. 43 

as a reward for his great services on the 
earthly field of battle. 

What the trenchant Dryden satirically 
wrote of one of the characters in his " Ab- 
salom and Achitophel," could be said in 
sober earnestness of this chivalrous servant 
of Christ: "His was the tribe of God Al- 
mighty's gentlemen." It is too risky an ex- 
periment to try to enumerate the marks of a 
gentleman. One thing is certain : it is not a 
question of blood, or even of manners, much 
less of money. We can all recognize the 
gentleman, even although it may be difficult 
to define him. Now there are many earnest, 
good Christians in the world, and the tribe 
of true gentlemen is not without its repre- 
sentatives in every land ; but if we use terms 
discriminatingly, the combination of the two in 
their highest forms is not an every-day thing. 
Not many in any one community deserve to 
be admitted into the number of the Christian 
u Immortals," that " tribe of God Almighty's 
gentlemen"; but, beyond dispute, here was 
a man who could be truly called, par excellence, 
a Christian gentleman. As a distinguished 



44 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

metropolitan preacher wrote of him shortly- 
after his death : 

He was a true man, combining in himself the high- 
est qualities both of the Christian and the gentleman; 
and though mingling much both in society and in 
public affairs, still bearing himself in both without fear 
and without reproach. He carried his Christian prin- 
ciples into his daily life thoroughly, and yet not in 
such a manner as to provoke either the sneer of the 
scoffer or the antagonism of the ungodly. He com- 
pelled all to respect both his Ch?'istianily and himself. 



This is high praise, and yet it does not 
over-estimate his influence from a religious 
standpoint. 

Now it would not be becoming in a min- 
ister of the Gospel to say a word derogatory 
of the efforts of those zealous and sincere men, 
to whom many in the Church would give the 
distinctive title of "Christian workers." But 
there is great need at this time that men pay 
earnest heed to the New Testament truth, 
often lost sight of, that all work, all business, 
the pursuit of the ordinary callings of life, 
even the fulfillment of the round of social 
duties, if done in the spirit of Christ, is Chris- 



Memorial Tributes, 45 

tian work. The Church of this age seems 
bitten with the idea that Martha is the highest 
type of Christian character; that a man must 
be full of bustling activity, busy about many 
things in Church work, if he would be a fruit- 
ful disciple. Professor Henry Drummond has 
done one great service for modern English 
Christendom in recalling attention to the 
laws of growth in grace. He has reminded 
us that we do not attain the highest levels of 
Christian living by striving after outward ac- 
tivity, but simply by fulfilling the conditions 
of growth in the personal religious life, and 
so growing after the pattern of Christ. Now 
a man may be the most active of Christians, 
as the phrase goes, and yet fall far short of 
the highest spiritual attainments. On the 
other hand, here is another man who is put 
by God in a conspicuous place in the world ; 
a man whose life is providentially so filled to 
overflowing with what seems purely secular 
that there is little opportunity left for " Chris- 
tian work," so-called ; and yet such a man 
may, as did Mr. Sullivan, render yeoman 
service to the Great Master by doing this 
divinely given work in an upright, dutiful, 



46 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

honest-hearted fashion, " walking in the fear 
of the Lord," with love to his fellow-men, 
and striving in all things to have the mind of 
Christ. It is encouraging that in the Apos- 
tolic list there is no such fruit as " usefulness"; 
it is, " love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentle- 
ness, goodness, meekness, brotherly kindness, 
charity." And these fair flowers of Christian 
character may be seen far up amid the Alpine 
snows of politics and public affairs and society, 
just as well as down in those valleys of dis- 
tinctively Christian work, in which place, 
alone, some of us are often tempted to look 
for the sweet influences of religion. To the 
deeply devout man there is no such distinction 
as between secular and religious life, just as 
there is none between profane and sacred 
history. As all history is but the unfolding 
of the grand purposes of the Eternal, which 
take within their sweep all the currents of 
politics, of commerce, and even of war; so 
all careers are, or may be, a ministry, an heav- 
enly calling. We may do the work given us 
to do in a Christ-like spirit, and so fulfill the 
law of Christ. Such a life was Mr. Sullivan's, 
and it is refreshing and instructive to contem- 



Memorial Tributes. 47 

plate it, because of the very environment in 
which it was cast. 

It is not the purpose of this modest article 
to make any sketch of his life or attempt any 
analysis of his intellectual gifts, but simply 
to recall to those who knew him a few of the 
traits of his loving and lovable character, in 
order to show how beautifully he exhibited 
the spirit of our holy religion. Whatever 
would be named as the dominant elements 
of Mr. Sullivan's nature by those who stood 
in the innermost circle of intimates, there 
were two features in his character which are 
especially recalled by the mass of his friends, 
perhaps because they were the very links by 
which he bound them to himself, and in each 
do we see the mind of Christ. 

The first of these qualities was that spirit 
of helpfulness with which he moved through 
life. Some one said of him : " He always 
reached out both hands to his fellow-man. " It 
is a pleasing and life-like portrait. His large 
heart beat for humankind. He felt the sor- 
rows and troubles and difficulties of others 
as if they were his own, and he gave freely 
of his time, his money, and, what was best of 



48 Algernon Sydney Sullivan, 

all, himself to their easement. He always 
espoused the cause of the weak, the oppressed, 
and the friendless, and chivalrously threw 
himself, like a modern Christian knight, into 
every scheme for the helping and uplifting of 
men which came to his attention. This dis- 
position revealed itself very early in his life, 
and he was but filling his natural place when, 
as a mere youth, the people of Cincinnati, 
where he was then residing, sent him to New- 
York to join in that welcome to these shores 
which was given by the country to Louis 
Kossuth and his fellow-exiles, and to invite 
him to partake of the whole-souled hospitality 
of their Western city. Among other things 
which he said upon that memorable occasion, 
he maintained that "the government that 
intermeddles to assist one nation to oppress 
another is as much the enemy of liberty and 
happiness as the pirate on the high seas. 
Every man's hand and every nation's hand 
should be against her, and there should be 
no sanctuary of precedent or policy whither 
she could fly for safety." In these words the 
youthful orator struck the key-note to which 
his whole nature responded, and to which his 



Afemorial Tributes. 49 

whole life kept true. His quick sympathies 
always went out with a prodigal generosity 
to all that were down-trodden in any way, 
and especially to those who were striving to 
push their way upward. This spirit of help- 
fulness appeared in a most attractive form in 
the affectionate interest he always took in the 
success of the young men of his acquaintance. 
Many a young man, coming as a stranger to 
this great city, found that a letter of introduc- 
tion to Mr. Sullivan was not only the " Open 
Sesame " to the hospitality of his charming 
home and to numberless other courtesies, but 
also to opportunity and success in business; for 
he went out of his way to put such strangers 
into a position where they could help them- 
selves. What one young man recently said 
is true of many others in New-York : " No 
small part of my success is due to the good 
words and kind offices of Mr. Sullivan at the 
outset of my career." It is no wonder that 
so many of them loved him as a father, and 
to this day mourn his departure with a deep 
sense of personal bereavement. It was in 
these unselfish ways that he tied men to him- 
self, so that his associates found it hard ever 
7 



50 Algernon Sydney Sullivan, 

to feel envy for his achievements ; while his 
friends always took a kind of affectionate 
pride in any success that he won. 

The other shining characteristic of the man, 
which struck all who met him, was a combina- 
tion of real sweetness of disposition and gentle 
courtliness of manner. As a young woman 
once said of him, " He was sweet to the very 
core." And that chivalrous bearing and win- 
ning grace which was so admired was not 
the thin veneer of the mere courtier, but 
was a natural expression, so graceful because 
so genuine, of a heart-born kindliness and 
thoughtfulness of others. An intimate asso- 
ciate has offered this significant tribute to 
his memory — significant because the action 
which he mentions is so slight and yet so con- 
stant that it was as true and natural a mani- 
festation of Mr. Sullivan's real character as 
bubbling waters speak forth the cool depths 
of a spring : " His greeting to the messenger 
boy in his office was as courteous and thought- 
ful and as considerate as to the most distin- 
guished citizen of our city.' , And he went on 
to say that during five years of most intimate 
association with him he never heard a harsh, 



Memorial Tributes. 51 

unkind, inconsiderate, or intemperate word 
pass his lips. Those who knew Mr. Sullivan 
will recognize the photographic truthfulness 
of this strong statement; and it is a very im- 
pressive one when we stop to think how 
often, in the fierce round of daily business, 
that mask of conscious effort after good deeds 
and kind words, which is worn to a greater 
or less extent by all men, is put aside, and the 
real man underneath makes himself known. 
In this connection I should like to put on 
record the testimony of a good woman, who 
for sixteen years has been a faithful helper in 
his household ; it is a telling tribute to the 
abiding gentleness of his character, because 
so many good men seem to feel themselves 
privileged, in the unguarded privacy of their 
own homes, occasionally to relax their self- 
control. She says that in all those years she 
14 never once heard Mr. Sullivan 1 s voice raised 
in anger or irritation" It seemed never to 
change from the key of kindness and good 
cheer. Although capable of a righteous in- 
dignation, which was at times terrific, mere 
anger rarely had any lodgment in his breast. 
Many of his friends can recollect trying cir- 



52 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

cumstances in which most men would have 
shown great temper, but under which Mr. Sul- 
livan accepted the situation with an unruffled 
sweetness of spirit which won the admiration 
even of those who differed from him. He 
loved peace, and studied always how to win 
it. He never used his gifted tongue to greater 
effect than in quelling passion and in explain- 
ing away differences. He loved always to 
find the common ground on which men could 
stand and work together. There was no 
bitterness or suspiciousness in his nature. He 
believed in God; he believed also in man. 
Bacon's words are singularly fitting to Mr. 
Sullivan : " He moved in charity, rested in 
Providence, and turned upon the poles of 
truth." His character had in it that which 
turned evil into good. 

These two special characteristics, which 
have been recalled to those who remember 
Mr. Sullivan, both belong to that part of 
human nature which in the popular psychol- 
ogy is called " the heart." Now Mr. Sullivan 
had great intellectual gifts and attainments, 
but that which makes so many men mourn 
his departure with a sense of personal loss 



Memorial Tributes. 53 

were those qualities which came from the 
heart and which spoke to the heart. His 
own tribute to the character of the late Chief- 
Justice Church is exactly descriptive of a 
leading feature of his own : 

Heart-wisdom is the lily-white chaplet which I 
would lay to-day by the opening grave of Sandford E. 
Church. Heart-wisdom ! It is a heavenly gift, that 
seems to lead its happy possessor intuitively into the 
paths of truth. When Moses unfolded the economy 
of the Jewish State, it was revealed to him that for 
certain duties and services " wise-hearted " men should 
be designated. The phrase presents to the mind 
images of simplicity, purity of intention, directness of 
motive, unselfishness, and, above all, a controlling 
reverence and sense of religious obligation. In study- 
ing the character of eminent men like Judge Church 
we soon see that it was not intellectual superiority 
alone that gave them their strong influence, but also 
purity of intention, which imparted tranquillity of soul, 
composed the passions, and illuminated the mind ; so 
that, following duty, the man knew many things, and 
was wise in action. 

Mr. Sullivan would have been too modest 
and unconscious of self to have described 
himself in any such words; and yet those 
who knew him will recognize in them an out- 



54 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

line of his own character, which is as clean- 
cut as cameo. 

Mr. Sullivan was a great lover of children 
and of young people ; and he never appeared 
more charming than in his addresses to them 
upon religious and other subjects. He saw 
in the young the hope of the republic and 
of the Church, and he always took the most 
ardent interest in every effort to train them 
up in the love of country and of God. The 
young people of that church of which he was 
a member found in him their natural leader 
in all their efforts to rouse their own and 
others' interest in its growth, and he drew to 
himself their enthusiastic admiration and 
affection. He never was too weary after the 
exhausting professional labors of the day to 
give an evening to them ; and the writer of 
this article several times has stumbled upon 
the fact that he had declined many invitations 
of the most attractive kind in order not to 
disappoint his young friends, for he was the 
life and inspiration of all their meetings. 
This trait of character in one so absorbed in 
public life was most refreshing and winning, 
and it showed the deep sweetness of his 



Memorial Tributes, 55 

nature. He was as simple-hearted as a child, 
as gentle as a woman, as chivalrous as a 
knight. 

In the picture of him drawn by affection 
and memory there is another striking feature, 
and that was his sunny faith and breezy hope- 
fulness. No one interested with him in any 
common enterprise ever went near him with- 
out feeling stronger and more courageous. 
If with you he believed in any cause, his 
buoyant faith made you feel that you were 
bound to win ; and it was a great pleasure to 
have such a spirit as his for a co-worker. And 
he showed this trait in the darkest hours. 
His courage rose against disaster as a kite 
would against the wind, and when things 
looked black he never threw the blame on 
his associates ; but, stiffening his own resolu- 
tion, he always put failure or disappointment 
behind him, and turned a brave, bright, trust- 
ful face to the front. Such courage was most 
contagious, and it was an inspiration to stand 
with him in any undertaking. 

It will be interesting to recall at this point 
some words of eulogy uttered by Mr. Sullivan 
at the obsequies of Bayard Taylor, many of 



56 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

which will be seen by his friends to describe 
his own character with remarkable exactness : 

His voice we shall hear no more. His manly form 
and character-expressing features remain for memory 
alone. But there are deeper memories with us of 
his social qualities: his enthusiasm for his work; his 
ingenuousness in his own estimate of himself; his 
sensibility to criticism; his modesty, coupled with in- 
dependence and dignity; his freedom from pretension ; 
his cool reflection; the fixedness of his principles, yet 
with toleration and liberality abounding; his freedom 
from discontent, without grudges against fortune; his 
constancy and warmth in friendship; his good sense; 
his pleasure in his work; his courage and enterprise; 
his love of the arts ; his hopefulness ; his high aims in 
existence. 

His love of peace has already been men- 
tioned. Coupled with this there always went 
a passionate devotion to justice; and his aim 
in his professional career was always to make 
these two ends meet, by endeavoring, if possi- 
ble, to settle his cases without the help of 
judge and jury, so avoiding litigation. He 
once told a fellow-lawyer that where he tried 
one case he composed thirty or forty out of 
court. Truly a noble use of his legal attain- 
ments, striving always to earn the blessing of 



Memorial Tributes. 57 

that most musical of the beatitudes, " Blessed 
are the peacemakers " ! As this same lawyer 
expressed it in a public tribute to his memory : 

He not only made his profession, with Lord Coke, 
" the perfection of reason,' ' but, with Howard, the great 
philanthropist, a road through the higher humanities 
of life and a " circumnavigation of charity " among his 
fellow-men. 

No picture of Mr. Sullivan would be com- 
plete without recalling the many-sidedness of 
the man. He seemed to " stand four-square 
to every wind that blew " in this great city. 
Full of public spirit, with a mind that was 
hospitable to every great " enterprise of pith 
and moment, " he touched the great life of the 
metropolis at many and most diverse points. 
Music, literature, art, and the general civic 
interests claimed his attention. He was a part 
of the life of the city, filling a place in it 
which few men of this generation have filled. 
The waters of the great heaving ocean close 
over the stateliest and mightiest vessel, and 
not a ripple is left on the surface to show 
where it once rode in proud majesty; the con- 
fession that " the place thereof shall know us 



58 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

no more forever " (a confession so humbling 
to the pride of man) must be made even of 
the kingliest spirits of our race ; but the men 
of New-York will not soon forget him whose 
name stands at the head of this article. For 
he gave of his strength to the community in 
such a way that he seemed to belong to it 
more than many other men who were born 
here. He was associated intimately with all 
of its progressive life; and when he died the 
leading representatives of legal, political, com- 
mercial, art, social, and philanthropic circles, 
and of numerous other departments of inter- 
est and effort in this full-lifed city, gathered 
around his bier to do him reverence, filling 
the church to overflowing. There was a uni- 
versal sense of loss; the whole community 
mourned for one of its first citizens. 

Most of that remarkable gathering of the 
choice spirits of New-York knew Mr. Sullivan, 
as the distinguished lawyer; the public-spirit- 
ed citizen; the potent adviser in the inner 
councils of his political party ; the persuasive 
and versatile popular orator; the charming 
after-dinner speaker; the delightful raconteur; 
the social leader; the graceful, genial gentle- 



Memorial Tributes. 59 

man, treasured by his friends as faultless in 
all the courtesies of life; a very Maecenas in 
his enthusiastic and intelligent patronage of 
music, of letters, and the arts, — a remarkably 
many-sided man, teres atque rotimdus. And 
yet all these gifts were but the engaging, 
winning externals of his life; and these rep- 
resentatives of metropolitan activity, who had 
gathered around his bier in that church which 
he loved with passionate devotion, were come 
to the place, which, as we who stood near 
knew full well, was the outward and stately 
symbol of that which was the true source and 
the dearest possession of his life. His springs 
were in God. His religion was not merely 
one of many real interests ; his loving fear of 
God, his faith in Jesus Christ (which was of 
a child-like and ardent type), and his large- 
hearted love for man — was his life. He was 
always a regular and reverent attendant upon 
the public worship of God; he joined with 
contagious heartiness in the hymns of praise 
and gave the preacher his earnest, sympathetic 
attention, knowing "the helpfulness of hear- 
ing." He was rarely absent from his place in 
the Sunday-school, and his class of young 



60 Algernon Sydney Sullivan, 

boys idolized him as the model of a Christian 
gentleman. His work for and with the young 
people of his church has already been alluded 
to. It was also his practice for many years 
to visit one of our hospitals every Sunday 
afternoon, to give the patients words of Chris- 
tian exhortation and cheer. Beyond this he 
was not permitted by his full life in the world 
to take much active part in the ordinary 
modes of Christian activity. What he did in 
this way was so quiet and local that many of 
his friends and admirers, who only knew the 
other sides of his life, were surprised to learn 
of the light in which the people of his church 
regarded him. But none the less was his 
religion the controlling and formative element 
in his life and career. In the frequent con- 
ferences which I was privileged to hold with 
him in behalf of that venerable church which 
we both wished to serve, he gave me many 
unexpected glimpses of his nature in his 
descriptions of his ideals of helpful preaching, 
and in the plans for the enlargement of our 
field of usefulness with which his fertile brain 
was teeming. I was often struck with his 
deep, sweet, strong, manly spirituality and 



Memorial Tributes. 61 

his simplicity of faith, and I was always made 
to feel, as we were considering these interests 
of Christ's Kingdom in our midst, that we 
were circling about what was the deep throb- 
bing center of all his many-sided activities. 

Without intruding upon the dear sanctities 
of his household, I may be permitted to tell 
a little incident (it was almost a daily one) of 
his home-life. Perhaps his favorite hymn was 
one of those sung at his funeral : " Art thou 
weary, art thou languid ? " Note by note, 
with almost boyish persistence, he had picked 
it out upon the piano ; and for many years 
hardly a day passed without his singing it to 
himself with his own accompaniment. Often 
it was the signal to the household that he 
had come up-town from his work. It was a 
simple thing ; and yet in truth the little habit 
betrayed the secret of the man's life. The 
plaintive notes of the familiar hymn at once 
spoke the yearnings of his own heart, and 
recalled it to its divine home — the love and 
care of the great Redeemer. From the strife 
of courts, from the turmoil of public affairs, 
from the whirl of social pleasures he always i 
came back, like a tired child, to what after 



62 Algernon Sydney Sullivan, 

all and under all was the true center and 
spring of his life. 

Upon the back of a picture of Mr. Sullivan 
which I treasure among my choicest posses- 
sions, a loving hand has written some lines 
which are so beautifully and accurately de- 
scriptive of our friend, that they must have 
been suggested to the pious Keble by some 
loving spirit like his : 

Men there are in this loud stunning tide 

Of human care and crime, 
With whom the melodies abide 

Of the everlasting chime; 
Who carry music in their heart 
Through dusky lane and wrangling mart, 
Plying their daily task with busier feet, 
Because their secret souls a holy strain repeat. 

Such a man was Mr. Sullivan. The music 
of true joy and peace sounded in his heart — 
because his life was thus " hid with Christ in 
God." 

I cannot close this modest sketch without 
recalling one feature of the funeral exercises 
which made a profound and lasting impres- 
sion upon those who were present. I refer 
to the hymn with which the simple obsequies 



Memorial Tributes. 63 

concluded. I quote it here, because it is one 
of those noble modern Anglican lyrics which 
has only found its way into our more recently 
compiled hymnals, and many of the readers 
of The Evangelist may not know it : 

For all thy saints, who from their labors rest, 
Who thee by faith before the world confessed, 
Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blessed. 

Hallelujah ! 
Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress, and their Might; 
Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well-fought fight; 
Thou, in the darkness drear, their Light of light. 

Hallelujah! 
O may thy soldiers, faithful, true, and bold, 
Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old, 
And win, with them, the victor's crown of gold. 

Hallelujah ! 
O blest communion, fellowship divine ! 
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine ; 
Yet all are one in thee, for all are thine. 

Hallelujah ! 
And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long, 
Steals on the ear the distant triumph-song, 
And hearts are brave again, and arms are strong. 

Hallelujah ! 
The golden evening brightens in the west; 
Soon, soon to faithful warriors comes the rest; 
Sweet is the calm of Paradise the blest. 

Hallelujah! 



64 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

But, lo, there breaks a yet more glorious day : 
The saints triumphant rise in bright array ; 
The King of glory passes on his way. 

Hallelujah ! 

From earth's wide bounds, from ocean's farthest coast, 
Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host, 
Singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, 

Hallelujah! 

The funeral exercises began and to some ex- 
tent of necessity ended in a sad minor strain ; 
for the departure of such a man left a painful 
vacancy in many lives and enterprises. And 
yet with this hymn the service seemed to 
close upon a glad triumphant major key. At 
first that sorrow-stricken crowd did not have 
much heart to sing a song of thanksgiving. 
But we gathered strength and hope and 
courage with every line of that martial hymn, 
and its closing verses came from over a thou- 
sand throats and hearts, and rolled through 
the vaulted gothic arches like a very paean of 
victory. It was sublime and uplifting, and 
the service at this point reached the true ideal 
of a Christian's funeral. I think all present 
realized very keenly the elements of gladness 
and triumph in the death of a faithful dis- 



Memorial Tributes. 65 

ciple; and, as with blinding tears of sorrow 
we looked into the golden sunset of the life 
of our friend and hero, joy and thanksgiving 
made them flow the faster; for we thought 
that what to us was a going down of the sun 
was for them upon the other side and for him 
a rising into a larger and more glorious life. 
The heimgang (as the Germans beautifully 
name death) of a man of God is not a defeat, 
but a complete triumph; "thanks be unto 
God who giveth us' the victory through our 
Lord Jesus Christ." Therefore we chanted 
no mournful dirge as about the body of a 
slain warrior; but we sang a song of victory, 
which was but the faint far-off earthly echo 
to that 

Singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost 

which bursts from the lips of " the countless 
host" of those who have triumphed through 
"the power of His resurrection." For "the 
redeemed of the Lord shall return and come 
with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy 
shall be upon their head; they shall obtain 
gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning 
shall flee away." The ear of faith caught the 
9 



66 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

echo of these heavenly strains, and so, with a 
song of thanksgiving and of expectation, we 
bade our friend auf wiedersehn. 

Such men never die. They live on in lives 
made better and braver and brighter for their 
presence. For he went through life doing 
good and, what was more, being good; for that 
is the tap-root of true doing. When I think 
of our friend, I often recall that beautiful ex- 
hortation of the great Apostle, to which he 
gave heed as earnestly as any man I ever met : 

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, what- 
soever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, 
whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are 
lovely, whatsover things are of good report ; and if 
there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think 
on these things. 

The serenity of genuine goodness shone 
like a star in his face. He rarely touched his 
fellow-men, except to help them and cheer 
them on to high thinking and noble doing; 
and this, I would earnestly insist, is the best 
form of " Christian work." " May his tribe 
increase." 

The contemplation of a character like this 
may inspire a man to sing as an aspiration 



Memorial Tributes. 67 

of his life that noble hymn of the poet of 
Agnosticism (only it is with a fullness of mean- 
ing into what, alas, she never seemed to enter; 
because we set it to the music of the resurrec- 
tion and so gave efficient motive power to 
the noble desire for an immortality of influ- 
ence, by adding to it the sure and blessed 
hope of a personal individual immortality in 
the fellowship of the Christ of God) : 

O may I join the choir invisible 

Of those immortal dead who live again 

In lives made better by their presence. So 

To live is heaven. . . . 

.... This is life to come, 
Which martyred men have made more glorious 
For us who strive to follow. May I reach 
That purest heaven, and be to other souls 
That cup of strength in some great agony, 
Enkindle generous ardor, feed pure love, 
Beget the smiles that have no cruelty, 
Be the sweet presence of a good diffused, 
And in diffusion ever more intense ; 
So shall I join that choir invisible 
Whose music is the gladness of the world. 

First Presbyterian Church, 

New- York, Nov. 22, 1888. 



Memorial &e$ohitton$* 

Court of Common Pleas* Part %, 

Proceedings on motion to adjourn out of respect to 
the memory of Algernon S. Sullivan. 

New-York, December 5, 1887. 
Present: Hon. Henry Wilder Allen, j. 
Mr. William J. Curtis, Mr. W. W. Niles, and 
Mr. Blair spoke in support of the motion. 

In ordering the adjournment, Judge Allen 
said : 

The motion which has just been made is very ap- 
propriate, and will be granted. Mr. Sullivan was 
conspicuous for his learning and great charms of char- 
acter. The tributes which have been paid to his 
memory by the members of the bar who have just 
spoken are well deserved. The Court will stand 
adjourned until to-morrow morning at eleven o'clock. 

68 



Memorial Tributes, 69 

Court of Common peaa, Part %%. 

Proceedings on motion to adjourn out of respect to 
the memory of Algernon S. Sullivan. 

New- York, Dec. 5, 1887. 

Present : Hon. Richard S. Larremore, C. J. 

At the opening of this Court, Mr. Henry P. 
Townsend made the following motion : 

Out of respect to the memory of Algernon S. 
Sullivan, a gentleman well known to all the mem- 
bers of the profession, his character and eminent 
position at the bar, all of which are elegantly noticed 
in the newspapers, I respectfully move that the Court 
do now adjourn. 

Mr. N. Quackenbos : I second the motion. 

The Court : It is unnecessary on this occasion 
to attempt anything but a recognition of the 
propriety of the application just made. A long 
acquaintance, personal and professional, with 
Mr. Sullivan has taught us his worth and value 
to the profession of which he was an honored 
member. We hope that a suitable opportunity 
will be afforded when his merits will be presented 
in a more detailed form which will serve as a 
lasting record of his past career. 

The clerk is directed to enter upon his min- 
utes the motion just made, and the Court will 
now adjourn. 



70 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 



Court of Common pea& ©qttttj> t 

Proceedings on motion to adjourn out of respect to 
the memory of Algernon S. Sullivan. 

New- York, Dec. 5, 1887. 
Present : Hon. Henry W. Bookstaver, j. 
Mr. George W. Cotterill moved that the 
Court adjourn out of respect to the memory of 
Mr. Algernon S. Sullivan. 

Mr. John Clinton Gray seconded the motion. 

In ordering the adjournment, Judge Book- 
staver said : 

Of commanding appearance, kind and frank, he was 
always welcomed by the Court in any case in which 
he appeared, because it was felt that his learning, 
ability, and absolute truthfulness would assist the 
Court in the trial of any question of law and fact with 
which it had to deal. He was of great equipoise and 
absolutely master of himself, so that his life was free 
from petty bickering or unrest. 



Memorial Tributes. 71 



gotmg pelt's ^Democratic Club. 

F. R. Coudert, President. 

New- York, Dec. 19, 1887. 

Resolved, that in the death of the late ALGER- 
NON S. Sullivan this city has lost one of its most 
patriotic, public spirited, and useful citizens ; the 
Bar and the law a most upright, eloquent, and 
able counselor ; the club a most conscientious, 
disinterested, wise, and earnest supporter and 
member; the Christian community one in whose 
life is singularly exemplified the truth that the 
constant consciousness of direct responsibility to 
God, the creator, is the only adequate and reli- 
able guide and incentive for human conduct. 

Resolved, that the community has cause for 
profound gratitude for such a life as that com- 
pleted in the death of Mr. Sullivan. Born of 
most pure and patriotic Christian parentage ; 
educated in the midst of the young, resolute, 
and inspiring life of the growing West ; fitted by 
natural endowment and by early and thorough 
study of our Constitution and government for the 
broadest and most useful activities in his profes- 



72 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

sion, and as a citizen, his whole career was marked 
by a love of country which excluded sectionalism 
and embraced every part of the republic, while 
his efforts were directed ever to promote and 
secure the great end of our government, the 
dignity, independence, and sovereignty of the 
citizen through local self-government. 

Resolved, that the life and career of this emi- 
nent citizen and pure patriot furnish an example 
to the young men of the country which will be 
held in grateful remembrance and is worthy of 
all imitation. 



Memorial Tributes. 73 



gjottt&eru Society of fyt Cttj? of iQeto-porfe, 

Memorial meeting to adopt resolutions regarding the 
death of the late President, Honorable Algernon 
S. Sullivan. 

Resolved, that in the character of our late 
President, Algernon S. Sullivan, the mem- 
bers of the Southern Society recognize all the 
qualities that give dignity and worth to human 
nature; 

That in his relations with us he ever exhibited 
himself as the true gentleman, the wise coun- 
selor, and the faithful friend ; 

That the impression of his virtues will abide 
with us as an incentive and guide to noble con- 
duct, and that we lament his death with the 
sincere sorrow of tenderly attached and deeply 
affected hearts. 



10 



74 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

©fcto H>octetp of JRetosgorfc* 

Special Meeting in Memoriam Algernon S. 
Sullivan. 

Dec. 6, 1887. 

The Committee reports the following resolu- 
tions : 

Among those who have cherished with us 
here the ties of birthplace or of early associa- 
tion, there has been no sweeter or braver spirit 
than Algernon S. Sullivan, one of our Vice- 
Presidents, now removed from us by death. 
His distinguished eminence, arising from his 
value to the community at large in his public, 
professional, and individual relations, and his 
excellence in all these, have made his active in- 
terest from the first in this Society a source of 
strength to it; while his engaging qualities have 
made him to us individually the object of affec- 
tionate regard. The memory of such a man is 
precious ; and these resolutions shall be entered 
upon our records in commemoration of his worth. 

A copy of them shall also be sent to Mrs. Sul- 
livan in token of our sympathy with her in her 
affliction. j. c. Zachos. 

Wager Swayne. 
James Q. Howard. 

[Seal.] f # C. Loveland. 

Geo. B. Hibbard. 

(Attest) : Homer Lee, Secretary. 



Me??wrial Tributes. 75 



Dec. 6, 1887. 

At a meeting of the members of the New- York 
Produce Exchange held Dec. 6, 1887, relative to 
the death of Algernon S. Sullivan, the fol- 
lowing preamble and resolutions were unani- 
mously adopted : 

Whereas, the members of the New- York Prod- 
uce Exchange have heard with sincere regret 
the melancholy announcement of the death of 
Algernon S. Sullivan, a public-spirited citizen, a 
distinguished lawyer, a man of sterling, robust 
honesty, and 

Whereas, the memory of Mr. Sullivan has 
particular claim to our grateful remembrance, 
because of the willingness with which he always 
responded to any demands made upon his talents 
and time by the officers of this body, and espe- 
cially in recognition of the dignified, scholarly, 
and eloquent address delivered by him on the 
occasion of the laying of the corner-stone of the 
Exchange ; therefore 

Resolved, that in the death of Mr. Sullivan we 
deplore the loss of a gifted scholar, an upright 



76 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

citizen, a good man, and to his stricken family 
we offer our deepest sympathy in unstinted 
measure. 

Resolved, that a committee of twenty-five mem- 
bers be appointed to attend the funeral of our 
deceased friend, and that this preamble and these 
resolutions be spread upon the minutes of the 
Exchange, and a copy thereof suitably engrossed 
be presented to the family of the deceased. 

A. E. Orr, President. 
[Seal.] Thomas P. White, Secretary. 



Memorial Tributes. 77 



aip&a £)elta P&t iFratermtp* 

Whereas, our Heavenly Father has removed 
by death our honored and beloved brother Al- 
gernon S. Sullivan, one of the members of 
this council, who by his devotion to A A <I> dur- 
ing the years of his connection therewith, and by 
his warm-hearted attachment to the members of 
that Fraternity with whom he has been person- 
ally associated, has in a marked manner won 
our affection; who as an associate with us in 
the deliberations of this council has been a wise 
director of the Fraternity, who by his legal 
attainments and his marked ability as an advo- 
cate has honored the Fraternity he so sincerely 
loved, and who by his affable manners, his con- 
stant urbanity, and his high moral tone has left 
to us the memory of a man occupying a most 
enviable position in the community as citizen, 
lawyer, and friend ; 

Therefore it is by the Executive Council of the 
Fraternity 

Resolved, that by the death of our brother 
Algernon S. Sullivan this council and the Fra- 
ternity of A A O have suffered an irreparable loss. 



78 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

Resolved, that this council do extend to the 
family of our deceased brother in their bereave- 
ment the sympathy of the council. 

Resolved, that the community has lost an up- 
right citizen. 

Resolved, that these resolutions be spread 
upon the minutes of the council, and that a 
copy thereof be transmitted to the family of the 
deceased, and that the resolutions be reported 
by this council to the next annual convention of 
the A A ® Fraternity. 

Wm. Talcott. 
W. B. Rankin. 
B. W. Franklin. 



Memorial Tributes. 79 



gotmg; People's &8&t>mtwxi, Pres&pterian 

The members of the Young People's Associa- 
tion of the First Presbyterian Church, reverently 
acknowledging their dependence upon their 
Heavenly Father, who rules all that is done for 
human good, desiring to express the emotions 
with which they have been filled by the sudden 
death of their beloved President, Mr. Algernon 
S. Sullivan, unanimously adopt the following 
minute : 

In the march of his busy life Mr. Sullivan 
found time to devote himself to the interest of 
this honored church, to study its welfare and to 
advance its usefulness, giving fully of his sub- 
stance and counsels for its benefit. His active, 
unfailing interest in the Young People's Asso- 
ciation was evidenced by the service which he 
generously gave as its President, and his familiar 
presence at our meetings ; indeed, to his wisdom, 
ability, counsel, and material assistance we at- 
tribute our success as an organization. In his 
life the members of this association have an 



So Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

example of a devoted, consistent, exalted Chris- 
tian character, which will abide with them always 
as a cheering and guiding light, unobscured and 
inextinguishable. In his death we sorrowfully 
part with one whom we have been accustomed to 
esteem not only for the simplicity and nobility 
of his mind and abounding sympathy of his 
nature, but as the embodiment of the qualities 
of a sincere follower of Christ. His death 
comes to us all with the shock of a personal 
affliction, and we shall never cease to mourn his 
loss. 

Our secretary is directed to transmit this ex- 
pression of the sense of our great bereavement, 
suitably engrossed, to the family of Mr. Sullivan, 
and to convey to them the tenderest assurances 
of our profound sympathy in their affection. 

Thomas E. Satterthwaite, 

Vice-President. 
Harry C. Perley, Secretary. 
E. M. Bogert, Treasurer. 
Ladislos Karge, \ 

Chas. M. Bergstrasser, V Committee. 
Wm. F. Haemer, ) 



Memorial Tributes. 81 



jl3eto=porft JHmantile ©jcJjanse* 

Corner Hudson and Harrison Streets. 

New- York, Dec. 26, 1887. 

At a public meeting held upon the floor of 
the Exchange, December 26, 1887, the following 
resolutions were adopted : 

The New-York Mercantile Exchange, learning 
with sincere regret of the death of their friend 
Algernon S. Sullivan, desire to express their 
appreciation of him and their sense of the loss 
which they in common with the community 
have sustained in his removal. In Mr. Sulli- 
van's character they recognize the honest man, 
the gentleman. Sensitive and honorable, he 
was unselfish and generous in his intercourse 
with his fellows. The sterling citizen, he was 
courteous to his opponents, faithful to his asso- 
ciates, superior to partisanship, and uncom- 
promising in adherence to truth and duty. 
Gifted with powers of oratory to sway his listen- 
ers, he used them for no mercenary purpose, 
but only to refine, to elevate society. 

The Exchange feels that they owe to Mr. Sul- 
livan a debt of gratitude for distinguished ser- 
11 



82 



Algernon Sydney Sullivan, 



vices which he gave them without expectation 
of reward, and which they can now repay only 
by honoring and revering his memory, and by 
placing in their archives this, their memorial 
tribute to his many virtues. 



Benj. Winer, Chairman. N 
M. Folsom, 
John A. Smith, 
Geo. B. Douglas, 
W. L. Temple, 



Committee. 



^ 



Memorial Tributes. 83 



Bt&potk €ollt$t of flimit. 

Whereas, the Trustees of the New- York Col- 
lege of Music have learned with sorrow of the 
death of their President, colleague, and friend, 
Mr. Algernon S. Sullivan : 

Resolved, that in the death of Mr. Sullivan 
the College of Music loses a man who has be- 
friended it in countless ways from its beginning ; 
whose feelings, strength, and time were always 
effectually enlisted in its service. 

Resolved, that the efforts of Mr. Sullivan con- 
tributed greatly to the progress and well-being 
of this institution. 

Resolved, that our relations with the deceased 
were always marked by a spirit of generous and 
open-hearted courtesy on his part, and that we 
deeply mourn his loss. 

Resolved, that the Secretary enter these reso- 
lutions upon our minutes and send a copy thereof 
to the family of Mr. Sullivan. 

Resolved, that the New- York College of 
Music be closed during the funeral of Mr. Sulli- 
van, and that the faculty and students be invited 
to attend the same. 

Latham G. Reed, Alex. Lambert, 

Secretary. Director. 



84 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 



IE)arlem ^Democratic Clttiu 

13, 15 and 17 East 125th Street. 

New-York, Dec. 21, 1887. 
At a meeting of the Harlem Democratic Club, 
held Wednesday evening, Dec. 7, the following 
resolution was offered by the Hon. Chas. W. 
Dayton, and unanimously carried : 

The Harlem Democratic Club has heard with 
profound sorrow that ALGERNON S. SULLIVAN 
is dead. 

His name is associated with the early history 
of our organization at a time when his wisdom 
and eloquence lent their great force to the public 
announcement of our plans and purposes, a 
service generously given by him and warmly 
welcomed by us. 

An upright life, a high position at the bar, 
a courtly manner, a singular charm of person, a 
nature where amiability and strength of char- 
acter were perfectly combined, all served to 
make him one of the most attractive and influ- 
ential orators of our time. 

His devotion to the principles of true Democ- 
racy was pronounced and recognized, and his 



Memorial Tributes, 85 

unselfish endeavors for the good of this country 
gave added force to his labors and brilliant 
utterances as a patriot with whom politics was a 
duty. 

His example should be emulated and his fame 
dearly cherished. 

Resolved, that a copy of the foregoing be duly 
attested and transmitted with our condolences 
to Mr. Sullivan's family. 

Joseph J. Casey, Secretary. 
J. R. McNalty, President 



86 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

American Satomgg 33anft* 

501 Fifth Avenue. 

New-York, January 9, 1888. 
Dear Madam: 

With deep sympathy in your recent affliction 
we beg, at the request of all the Trustees of the 
American Savings Bank, to send you the follow- 
ing copy of a preamble and resolution adopted 
at their last meeting, namely : 

Whereas, it has pleased the Almighty to re- 
move by death from among us one of our associ- 
ates, the late Hon. Algernon S. Sullivan, 

Resolved, that we, the Trustees of the Ameri- 
can Savings Bank, desire to record the great loss 
we feel in being deprived of his wise counsel and 
willing assistance in the management of this in- 
stitution, and to express the high estimation in 
which we held him on account of his sound judg- 
ment and sterling integrity, which were always 
combined with the kindly and courteous manners 
of the true gentleman. 

With great respect, we remain, madam, 
Your obedient servants, 
Daniel T. Hoag, President, 
Granville B. Smith, Treasurer. 
Wm. Irwin, Secretary and Counsel 
To Mrs. Algernon S. Sullivan. 



Memorial Tributes. 87 



3fetoelers' J&ecttritp alliance. 

At a special meeting of the Executive Com- 
mittee of the Jewelers' Security Alliance, held 
Dec. 7, 1887, the following preamble and reso- 
lutions were read and unanimously adopted: 

Whereas, in the providence of God Algernon 
S. Sullivan, late counsel of this Alliance, hav- 
ing been suddenly removed by death, and 

Whereas, his faithful services as legal coun- 
selor of the Alliance and his devoted interest to its 
affairs from the date of its organization to the 
present time should have befitting acknowledg- 
ment, now therefore be it 

Resolved, that by the decease of its late counsel, 
Hon. Algernon S. Sullivan, the Jewelers' Security 
Alliance has lost a most able, earnest, and faith- 
ful administrator of its affairs, who was endeared 
to the associate officers by many ties of friend- 
ship growing out of long acquaintance, and a 
just appreciation of his sterling integrity and 
noble qualities. 

Resolved, that this Board attend the funeral 
services in a body, and that a copy of the pro- 
ceedings of this meeting be prepared by the 
secretary and forwarded to the family of the 
deceased. 



88 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 



jaetD-porfe 3fetoelera' SBoarfc of ©ratte* 

Mrs. Algernon S. Sullivan and Family. 

At a meeting of the board of directors of the 
New-York Jewelers' Board of Trade, held on 
Tuesday, Dec. 13, 1887, the following resolu- 
tions were unanimously adopted : 

Whereas, the Almighty has in his infinite 
wisdom seen fit to remove from our midst our 
late respected counselor and friend, the Hon. 
Algernon S. Sullivan, we deem this a proper 
time to express our feelings of sorrow and regret 
at the untimely ending of a useful and honor- 
able life ; therefore be it 

Resolved, that we hereby tender to his bereaved 
family our sincere sympathy and condolence in 
this their hour of affliction. 

Resolved, that a copy of these resolutions be 
transmitted to the family of the deceased, and 
the same entered upon the minutes of this 
Board. 

F. H. Richardson, President. 

(Attest) : H. M. Condit, Secretary. 



Memorial Tributes. 89 

Uttixms of t&e §&tUnty*$iv&t Mz%imtnt, 
13, (3, ft, B, p + 

Headquarters 71 st Regiment Armory, 
New-York, Dec. 21, 1887. 
My Dear Madam : 

At the meeting of the Association when the 
moment came to take action upon the death of 
our honorary member, the formal resolutions 
which it is customary to pass seemed to us one 
and all to give no expression to the general feel- 
ing, and one of our members arose and said, 
" Commander, I feel that no resolutions we could 
pass would give voice to the deep feeling Mr. 
Sullivan's death has stirred among us. One of 
our comrades has gone, one who has always 
given us his cheerful aid and countenance in alt 
our doings. He gave us aid and counsel in any- 
thing proposed for the general welfare and 
pleasure. He helped us care for our sick, bury 
our dead, and succor the widow and orphans. 
He was our friend and comrade, one of us, and 
I beg you, Sir, to write in kind words our sym- 
pathy and sorrow which no formal resolutions 
can tell." 

Sincerely yours, 

Chas. F. Homer, 
Col. J 1st Regt. Veterans. 
To Mrs. A. S. Sullivan. 
12 



4£xttatt$ from Memorial $lbbre£?e£* 

As my object has been to preserve a picture of 
my father in his daily life of work among men, 
I have limited myself to the expression made 
through the press, or by memorial resolutions 
passed at the time of his death. I have included 
in this memorial but three of the many valued 
private letters received by my mother and myself 
at that time. 

G. H. S. 



No word of praise can warm the heart now 
stilled in death ; but we have felt that you would 
desire formally but lovingly to place upon the 
records of our Society such resolutions as might 
be dictated alike by our affection for the man 
and our admiration for his exalted character. 

Mr. Sullivan was indeed a remarkable man. 
Possessed of extraordinary ability and great 



Memorial Tributes. 91 

strength of will, he fought his way to the first 
rank in his profession. Genial, gentle, digni- 
fied, courteous, he became one of the most 
prominent figures in the social life of this great 
city, where gather the brightest, most cultured, 
and distinguished people of the entire country. 
Brilliant, gifted by nature with a voice, the senti- 
ments and graces of an orator, he won a lasting 
reputation as a great public speaker. Generous 
and open hearted, his purse, his advice, his 
services, and his sympathies were ever at the 
command of the poor and the suffering. His 
tongue and his pen, his time and his brain, he 
freely gave to the service of mankind. No narrow 
spirit ruled his actions. In every sphere of life, 
in public and in private, he was always the 
liberal, broad-minded Christian and gentleman. 

John C. Calhoun, 

At a Memorial Meeting of the New- York 
Southern Society, Dec. 13, 1887. 

Of the virtues that entitle to affection and 
esteem, Mr. Sullivan's character was a conspic- 
uous illustration. That bland and beaming 
countenance which conciliated at once the regard 
of casual acquaintance, was but the revelation 
of a spirit instinct and overflowing with every 
gentle and kindly feeling. 



92 Algernon Sydney Sullivan, 

The amenity of manner which distinguished 
him was the involuntary and unconscious effusion 
of a heart throbbing in responsive sympathy with 
all human gladness and sorrow. . . No man 
was ever a more faithful and steadfast friend. 

From the eminence to which his abilities and 
virtues had enabled him to attain at the bar and 
in society, he eagerly stooped to lend a helping 
hand to the unfortunate and forlorn ; and many- 
are the hearts that mourn in his death the loss 
of their best benefactor. 

Roger A. Pryor, 

At a Memorial Meeting of the New- York 
Southern Society, Dec. 13, 1887. 

It rarely falls to the lot of man to so compass 
the battle of life, that after threescore years of 
arduous service he may lay aside his armor un- 
touched by a single shaft of envy, hatred, or 
malice and come to his rest not only with the 
record of a life well spent, but with every page 
of that record stamped with the good-will and 
affection of his fellow-men. The memory of 
such a man are we honored in commemorating 
to-night. 

Of all the qualities of head and heart which 
unite to form a man, those are always the most 
attractive and the most enduring in their effect 



Memorial Tributes. 93 

on human action which develop the arts of 
graciousness and conciliation, the arts by which 
men are drawn together and endeared to one 
another, under which virtue grows by communi- 
cation, and from which as illustrated in the life 
and character of our departed friend there 
springs that noblest of all human impulses, the 
pleasure which waits on charity. 

Hugh R. Garden, 

At a Memorial Meeting of the New- York 
Southern Society, Dec. 13, 1887. 

... As a private citizen, public official, and 
professional man, he adorned his every station. 
His voice was ever strong in the right and his 
arm ever lifted in the defense of the oppressed. 
A man whose many public and private virtues 
endeared him to the people of this city, and who 
closed his day of life with a glorious sunset. 
Charles G. Wilson, 

At a Memorial Meeting oftfie New- York 
Southern Society, Dec. 13, 1887. 

Of handsome countenance and graceful bear- 
ing and considerate courtesy, with a fine vocabu- 
lary and happy phraseology, he needed but his 
great sympathy with humanity and enthusiasm 
for carrying out all good aims to make him what 



94 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

he was, a natural orator. It was this sympathy 
and enthusiasm of his that made him so ready 
an orator. None more ready ; none more felic- 
itous. 

I think it was when the corner-stone of the 
Produce Exchange in this city was laid, that on 
an hour's notice he delivered the principal ad- 
dress — a capital oration. 

As an advocate before jury and court, in addi- 
tion to his eloquence and grace of diction, his 
fairness and candor of manner and of thinking 
made him powerful. As a counselor his exten- 
sive learning, his wide experience of men, and 
his ability to put himself in the place of his 
adversary, of the judge, of the jury, and so judge 
of the probable reception and adjudication of a 
case, made him a strong arm to lean upon. 

As a prosecuting officer, I know that in him 
justice was tempered with mercy. As an elder 
brother in the law, I and many another younger 
lawyer are under great obligations to him for his 
unselfish counsel and aid during the earlier years 
of our professional life. 

To how many of the weak and suffering has 
he in many ways brought succor ! I remember 
how years ago in the evening, when his own 
work was done and his not too strong frame 
required rest, his house was frequented by per- 



Memorial Tributes. 95 

sons in distress who needed counsel, and there re- 
ceived it without price. For with him the getting 
of money was not the chief object of living. 

In religion, in politics, in thought and feeling 
his catholicity was apparent throughout; his 
prejudices seemed to be held in check by his 
candid appreciation of the causes bringing about 
the mental results shown in the diverse opinions 
of others. 

The curtain hangs undrawn by me over the 
sacred portals of his home — a home of singular 
felicity. It seems to me that the tone that can 
be found throughout his whole life is that of 
charity; of charity, as the word should have 
been translated from the Greek; of love, of 
love for his fellow-men. He loved all men. All 
men loved him. 

How appropriate, then, to the character of our 
departed friend are these fine lines of Leigh Hunt ; 

Abou Ben Adhem, may his tribe increase ! 

Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace, 

And saw, within the moonlight of his room, 

Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom, 

An angel, writing in a book of gold. 

Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold ; 

And to the presence in the room he said, 

" What writest thou? " The vision rais'd its head, 

And, with a look made all of sweet accord, 

Answered, " The names of those who love the Lord.'* 



96 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

11 And is mine one ? " asked Abou. " Nay, not so," 

Replied the angel. Abou spake more low, 

But cheerily still, and said, " I pray thee, then, 

Write me as one that loves his fellow-men." 

The angel wrote and vanished. The next night 

It came again with a great wakening light, 

And show'd the names whom love of God had blessed, 

And lo ! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest. 

Anson Maltby, 

At a Memorial Meeting of the New- York 
Southern Society, Dec. 13, 1887. 

Mr. Sullivan devoted all his energies to the 
law, and never failed to impress his learning and 
logical acumen upon the court in banc, where 
the abstruse principles of the profession alone 
count. His talents were both powerful from 
nature and not meanly cultivated in letters, 
especially in the science of the law. 

Before juries, where the eloquence of the 
heart has larger play, he was a ready, effective, 
and eloquent advocate, and won high reputation 
for forensic powers among the foremost mem- 
bers of an exceptionally brilliant bar. But it 
was as a citizen of the world at large that Mr. 
Sullivan was on very many accounts one of the 
most memorable men of his time. Public spirit, 
the life of patriotism, the soul of commonwealths, 
was never dormant in his bosom, but burned 
there in a steady flame. 



Memorial Tributes, 97 

... I have seen Mr. Sullivan emerge on a 
sudden from a stormy political meeting, where 
the passions of men were lashed into wild excite- 
ment, and enter forthwith into a refined and ex- 
clusive circle of ladies and gentlemen, where the 
courtly manners which so distinguished him 
everywhere were brought into instant play. 

I heard him, for he insisted on my going with 
him, on that never-to-be-forgotten occasion ad- 
dress with all the ease and elegance of Chester- 
field, the leading personage in the room; bore 
a message to him, took one back from him most 
impressively delivered ; returned to the meeting 
to announce it, and once more Algernon S. 
Sullivan was the strong and aggressive, mascu- 
line, rough-and-ready orator in the commune, 
quelling the passions of the multitude and win- 
ning them over to harmony and peace. 

The occasion to which I refer was the night 
of the Presidential election of 1876, when the 
largest meeting I have attended, even in this 
city of monster meetings, sent Mr. Sullivan to 
wait on Mr. Tilden to take counsel of that states- 
man in a moment of supreme national peril. In 
less discreet hands a crisis might have been pre- 
cipitated whose consequences no man could fore- 
see, but Mr. Sullivan, responding to the earnest 
appeal of Mr. Tilden, poured oil on the troubled 

13 



98 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

waters, and New-York, which seemed that night 
to be rocked in the throes of a rising revolution, 
was restored to its wonted calm. . . 

If at his departure from this life Mr. Sullivan 
had only been the learned and successful lawyer 
that he was, the champion of the down-trodden, 
the promoter and almoner of public and private 
charities, the lover and patron of music, painting, 
and the drama, the center of a great and aston- 
ishing variety of charitable societies, many of 
which, the main-spring gone, may become dis- 
sipated by his death, even then this favorite son 
of New-York would have challenged the admira- 
tion of this great city, and his name and his 
deeds would be recorded among the chosen 
ones in her annals ; but, when to his talents and 
to his versatility, which rose to the level of genius, 
are added the virtues of the man, the warmth of 
his heart, the sweetness of his temper, that com- 
bination of almost perfect character, the measure 
of our loss may be gauged, the cause of our 
sorrow may be understood. 

Hon. J. Fairfax McLaughlin, 

At a Memorial Meeting of the New- York 
Southern Society, Dec. 13, 1887. 

THERE are few men in this community for 
whom I had a greater affection, and not one for 
whose character I had a greater respect. 



Memorial Tributes, 99 

I opened the New-York Sun and found there 
an admirable wood-cut of his beloved face, and 
I said to myself, " There ! Sullivan has done 
another good thing, and the city is ringing with 
it ! " but, alas ! on looking further down the 
column I was shocked to see the announcement 
of his death. 

The very first case that I had, I believe, after I 
came to New-York, came to me in this wise : 
An old clergyman from Mobile, whence I had 
just come, found a young Southern man, who had 
gone wrong in a very peculiar way, in the Tombs. 
He had embezzled some money, and, singularly 
enough, had spen t almost all of it for the Sunday- 
school and in doing all sorts of religious work ; 
and this old clergyman came to see me about 
the matter. I knew nothing in the world about 
criminal law, especially as practiced in the State 
of New- York, and I asked Mr. Sullivan to help 
me. The young man turned over to us all the 
property that he had left, and instructed us to 
take out our fees and turn the balance over to 
his late employers. We did what we could for 
him, got a small sentence, the best that we 
could do; and I said to Mr. Sullivan, "What 
shall we do with this property ?" "Why, we 
will turn it over to the employers, of course. 
Neither one of us will touch a cent of it." This 



ioo Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

was my first experience with him, and he worked 
on that case as if he were going to get an enor- 
mous fee and an immense amount of honor — 
all for the love of this poor stranded Southerner, 
and for a love of humanity generally. 

And so all through my acquaintance with him, 
his singleness of purpose, his gentle Christian 
life, was a model to every man with whom he 
came in contact. 

Hugh L. Cole, 

At a Memorial Meeting of the New- York 
Southern Society ', Dec. 13, 1887. 

I HAVE known our deceased President for a 
great while. I knew his father in Madison, 
Indiana, and after he had withdrawn from the 
bench of one of the Superior courts he was my 
counsel in a case I had there. He was a man 
universally beloved; who respected the simple 
Christian life and character; who died lamented 
by the whole community. The son followed the 
example of the father. 

I assume that he was not a man rich in this 
world's goods, but he had a wealth of brilliant 
intellect and of nobility of character that money 
cannot purchase, and that nothing but death 
can take away. 

He was always ready to contribute his valuable 



Memorial Tributes, 101 

time and his brilliant talents to every cause of 
deliverance and every undertaking of patriotism. 
It is a pity that such men should die ; it is a 
calamity that they should die; it is a public 
calamity that they should be stricken down in 
the very strength of their manhood and in the 
highest pinnacle of their usefulness. 

Dr. Norvin Green, 

At a Memorial Meeting of the New- York 
Southern Society, Dec. 13, 1887. 

He was one of the brightest and best of our 
Society. A better man is not to be found in 
this splendid metropolis. 

On last Wednesday night, one week ago, I 
dined with him in a party of twenty gentlemen 
at Delmonico's. He never was more full of life 
or in higher spirits. He made a thoughtful 
speech, and towards the end of the evening sang 
a song with improvisations between the verses, 
charmingly hitting off traits of the other guests. 
It was as genial and often as witty a bit of fun as 
Goldsmith's Retaliation. 

One short week ago ; and now he lies dead ! 
But, gentlemen, he was ready to go. And after 
all it matters little when we die, though it mat- 
ters much how we live and what example we 
leave behind us. 



102 Algernon Sydney Sullivan, 

How can any of us hope to do better than he ? 
How few of us can expect to do as well ! 

As I think of him now, I know not which 
most to admire, his genial temper, his generous 
heart, his brilliant intellect, his simple and ster- 
ling character, or his Christian life and example. 

He came to New-York from Cincinnati in his 
early prime, ambitious for wealth and fame. He 
came where wealth and reputation are added to 
those who bring both, but are rarely won by the 
honest effort of strangers who enter the stern 
struggle with neither. 

He had no adventitious help, no powerful 
friends, but worked his way up by patient and 
self-reliant industry and frugality, growing each 
year in public respect and confidence until he 
stood in the front rank at the bar and in all the 
walks of life. 

He was cut off without warning in mid-career. 
What better could he have done had he been 
given time to get ready? Nothing. He lived 
his life as he went along — from day to day. And 
now, looking back over it, all who knew him 
unite in words of love and admiration. There 
are none to damn with faint praise, or to keep a 
discreet silence, or to intimate faults in his char- 
acter or conduct. All know him to have been 
uncorrupted and incorruptible, a Christian 



Memorial Tributes. 103 

gentleman, whose brilliant and beautiful life is a 
happy memory to his friends, and a priceless 
heritage to his wife and child. 

Gen. Thomas Ewing, 

At Special Meeting of the Ohio Society, Dec. 6, 1887. 

IT was my good fortune to know Mr. Sullivan 
well for many years. Our lives touched socially 
and professionally at many points. His personal 
character inspired me with warm regard and 
attachment and his intellectual qualities with 
sincere admiration. Few men whom I have 
' ever known in our profession of the law or in 
any other possessed such roundness or complete- 
ness of culture, or such equal and well-adjusted 
intellectual powers. In his work there was such 
readiness, versatility, smoothness, and ease, so 
little apparent effort or labor that one hardly 
realized the strength and force of the man, like 
a perfect machine, whose parts are so well ad- 
justed and adapted that it works and wields its 
great force without noise or wearing friction, and 
without always adequately impressing the be- 
holder. On the platform he was peculiarly 
attractive and effective. He was tall, well pro- 
portioned in form, handsome of face, graceful in 
movement and gesture, and of a most winning 
manner and presence. His voice was full, pene- 



104 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

trating, and musical, and had in it that sym- 
pathetic and magnetic quality without which no 
man can be truly eloquent, and which has that 
mysterious power of carrying the feeling and 
meaning in the heart of the speaker to the 
hearts of his hearers almost without words. 

Both as a writer and speaker he had a most 
pure style, was a master of good English, and 
his words had in them those qualities possessed 
only by cultured minds and pure, strong natures 
— directness, simplicity, and vivid reality. 

Of his place and achievements at the Bar it is 
not my purpose here and now to speak. It is 
sufficient to say that, coming here from a Western 
State nearly a quarter of a century ago, he very 
soon made his place in the front rank of the 
profession, and was quickly recognized as among 
the ablest of the great lawyers of the State. That 
place he maintained, his fame as a great advo- 
cate and lawyer growing brighter and stronger 
until he passed from us and death made for him 
another life. 

There is another phase of his character, how- 
ever, which it seems fitting and proper we should 
recall. It is not too much to say, I think, that 
there was no man in this great city who did 
more for the poor than Algernon S. Sullivan. 
Of him how pertinent and true are the words of 
Horace Mann : 



Memorial Tributes. 105 

11 The soul of the truly benevolent man does not seem 
to reside much in its own body. Its life to a great extent 
is a mere reflex of the lives of others. It migrates into 
their bodies and identifies its existence with their exist- 
ence, finds its own happiness in increasing and prolong- 
ing their pleasures, in extinguishing or solacing their 
pains." 

There was no organized movement in this 
great city for the alleviation of suffering, for help 
and succor to earth's unfortunates, which did 
not receive his warm, strong sympathy and his 
efficient aid. It was known of all the good men 
and good women how ready he was to do all in 
his power to help forward any good work, and 
so it came about that when an effort was to be 
made to organize some charitable movement, to 
enlist and arouse the people in behalf of some 
good cause, to relieve suffering, to drive out vice, 
to lift up the fallen, Mr. Sullivan was expected 
and was there, always found leading, giving ex- 
pression and direction to the effort. 

In appealing to the people in such a cause, 
how eloquent, how pathetic he was, what sym- 
pathetic, what pleading, what tender tones in 
that musical voice as he told of the long hours 
of toil, the dark days of sickness, the endless 
misfortunes and voiceless sufferings of the poor 
and the unfortunate ! He kept himself poor by 
his giving, and he wore his life away in this 
striving to help his fellow-man. His great 
14 



io6 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

powers of mind and heart were ever at their best 
in this work. Of him, how true it was, "God 
uses us to help each other, so lending our minds 

OUt." 

In the death of Algernon S. Sullivan a great 
mind richly stored, a knightly soul aiming ever 
at highest achievement, a warm, strong, sym- 
pathetic human heart passed from among us, 
and we bow our heads in mourning. 

Gen. H. L. Burnett, 

At Special Meeting of the Ohio Society, Dec. 6, 1887. 

There has been and is such a deep sense of 
personal loss by the bar as well as by the general 
community that ordinary forms of expression 
seem too commonplace for such a rare and pecul- 
iar example. The bench adjourned with record 
of its regard, the bar attended his obsequies, 
and everywhere, on the street and in the court, 
now speak of his loss as that of a personal 
friend ; the press of all political shades lavished 
its space, and for the first time within my knowl- 
edge were in accord on a common subject. The 
great exchanges and societies tried to tell their sor- 
row in fitting resolutions, and met at his funeral 
through their most distinguished representatives. 
Business men everywhere praised his virtues, and 
his intimates and clients were not ashamed to 



Memorial Tributes. 107 

weep. The city lowered its flags, and its most 
honored citizens were the bearers of his dear 
remains. 

We loved, idolized him so much, that it seems 
to us but natural to find in him something to 
admire and esteem, but is it not, after all, re- 
markable that from all classes and all parts of the 
country, even from persons who were but slightly 
acquainted with him, there should come the ex- 
pression of such grief as is generally evoked by 
the loss of kin only ? 

Although one of the greatest he was one of 
the simplest of men, with no vulgar aims, and 
with an unswerving faith in God and human 
kind. He was the purest, sweetest, wisest man 
of his time. For nearly fifteen years I have 
been looking daily into his heart, and during all 
those years and under the thousand temptations 
of a busy life, professional, social, political, I 
never found there even remotest approach to sin. 
Not an unkind or harsh word to any human 
being, not a falsehood, not a bitter thing, not a 
profane or indelicate thought ever passed those 
lips. Always gracious and altogether lovely; 
putting aside, not putting forward, his own great 
personality ; reaching out both hands in con- 
stant helpfulness to men. 

This is not the tribute of affection, nor its 



108 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

exaggeration; I mean my thoughts to be literally 
and exactly taken. 

Of whom else, man or woman, in all this 
world could this be honestly witnessed? Unlike 
most great men, he grew greater the nearer we 
approached him. These qualities were stamped 
by God on his noble face and were shown in 
every act of his daily life, so that all men who 
met him went away somehow refreshed and en- 
nobled. Such a life cannot be phrased, it can 
only be loved ; such a life cannot die ; such an 
influence is more potent than man himself. 
Wm. Nelson Cromwell, 

Extract from Letter, Jan. x, 1888. 

Few men whom I have known in this city 
during the last twenty-five years have been as 
willing to forego their private interests and con- 
venience in order to contribute counsel, efforts, 
and means to advance the public good as he. 
His example remains to us, and well will it be 
for our country, State, and city, if those who shall 
follow him in the ranks of this great profession 
shall be equally constant in anxiety and effort 
for the public good. Henceforth, those who 
stand for and labor in this cause against all 
comers in this great city, at the sacrifice of 
private interest, and if need be partisan affilia- 



Memorial Tributes, 109 

tion, will miss from their active number one of 
the most constant and able, Algernon S. Sullivan. 
May this loss be in some measure compensated 
by such devotion to the public interest in the 
younger members of the bar as his example can- 
not fail to inspire. 

O. B. Potter, 

A t Memorial Meeting of the Young Men's Democratic 
Club of New- York, Dec. 19, 1887. 



Mr. Sullivan's life, both professional and 
private, was an exemplar. His excellent quali- 
ties of mind and heart were so fittingly blended 
that he became a lawyer instinctively, whose 
paramount consideration was the right and 
justice of the cause that he was called upon to 
espouse. 

Professional ambition, vanity, or emolument 
were powerless to obscure his vision in this 
regard. As an advocate he was gifted with a 
fluency and clearness of expression, which, com- 
bined with a vivid imagination, took the form of 
eloquence when he addressed himself to audi- 
ence or jury. But facility of expression never 
betrayed him into weakness of logic. It was 
impossible to come in contact with him without 
being impressed by the candor and fairness of 



no Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

his character. As an associate in professional 
life his conduct was marked by such an extreme 
unselfishness towards his brother lawyer that 
the utmost harmony prevailed, and the latter 
felt that he had gained a disinterested friend. 
In meeting him as an adversary one could not 
but be impressed by his urbanity, his fairness ; 
and even defeat at his hands was deprived of its 
sting. As a citizen he was universally esteemed, 
and was regarded as the type of the true Ameri- 
can gentleman. 

I therefore suggest that the minutes of this 
Court bear witness to the respect for the memory 
of one whom we so delight to honor, and that 
the Court do now adjourn in token of our be- 
reavement. 

G. W. Cotterill, 

On Motion to adjourn the Court of Common Pleas, 
Dec. 5, 1887. 



May it please your Honor, the public press of 
this morning has brought to our notice the sad 
and very sudden news of the death of a gentle- 
man who has been for upwards of twenty years 
a very prominent member of the New-York Bar. 
It would be perhaps more fitting that the fact 
should be called to the attention of the Court-by 
some gentleman of more mature years or longer 



Memorial Tributes. in 

practice at the Bar than myself; but an intimate 
and very close association in the office of Mr. 
Sullivan upwards of seven years seemed to make 
it fitting that I should say a word here at this 
time in commemoration of him. 

I knew him as a man, as a father, as a citizen, 
and as a lawyer. As a father he was tender and 
loving, considerate and true. As a man he was 
always unostentatious; he was always consid- 
erate of the feelings of others ; he was warm in 
his greeting, and democratic in his ideas. , His 
greetings to the messenger boy in his office were 
as courteous and thoughtful and as considerate 
as to the most distinguished citizen of our city. 
For seven years of his life, although I saw him 
almost daily during that time, I never heard a 
harsh, unkind or inconsiderate or intemperate 
word pass his lips regarding any person or any 
thing. He was an ideal Christian gentleman. 
He was tolerant in his ideas, gentle and liberal 
in his views although of the Evangelical faith, 
and treated the feelings and convictions of others 
with respect. As a public citizen he always 
desired to do his duty in every respect. He was 
governed by the highest ideals. As a lawyer he 
was perhaps best known by his forensic ability ; 
but it was not in that line that I most admired 
him. Knowing him as I did in the confidence 



ii2 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

of his office I admired him most because of his 
wise and judicious counsel; because of his sym- 
pathy for those in adversity ; because of the con- 
fidence and trust reposed in him by his clients. 
There was that existing between him and his 
client which was almost an ideal relation. Their 
cause was his cause and their successes were his 
successes ; he made them his own, and he there- 
fore entered into his work with the most serious 
convictions and feelin gs. As a lawyer he perhaps 
was not looked upon as combative or litigious ; 
but still he had a very strong will and a very 
strong character under that unassuming and 
unostentatious presence, and a moral courage 
which was possessed to a greater degree by no 
one, so far as I know, at the Bar. I very well 
remember of his telling me in the lull of busi- 
ness one afternoon of his experience a great 
many years ago, when the souls of men were so 
tried during the war, when he was made con- 
spicuous by his arrest when he was called upon 
to defend the owners of a rebel blockade-runner 
that was under the control of the Confederate 
government. He was called upon by the At- 
torney-General of the Confederate government 
to defend them in this matter. His motives 
were misunderstood, and he was arrested and 
cast into prison without trial and without exami- 



Memorial Tributes. 113 

nation. He was afterwards released and attended 
court to defend his clients. He was called upon 
by many members of the Bar, some distinguished 
and learned men ; he was told: " Sullivan, you 
must not stand here and defend these gentle- 
men ; your life is in danger ; you cannot reach 
your home in safety if you do. " His simple, true, 
and ingenuous reply was, "But I am retained 
as their attorney." "That does n't make any 
difference ; you must not sacrifice your life, or 
injure your life in their interest." He said, 
" That is a consideration which I as a lawyer 
cannot entertain; if my clients do not desire to 
avail themselves of my services they can excuse 
me and employ some one else ; but if they insist 
upon my representing them, I as a man and as 
a lawyer must stand and do my duty." And he 
did his duty at the request of his clients even in 
the face of danger. That is, I say, an indication 
of his moral courage. His was a beautiful char- 
acter ; I know of no more lovely. 

It is not the proper time or place to expand 
upon his virtues which crowd upon me, but I knew 
him so many years that I am very glad to stand 
here and pay this simple tribute to his memory. 
Well it might be said in the language of Bacon, 
" He moved in charity, rested in Providence, 
and turned upon the poles of truth." I now 

*5 



ii4 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

desire to make the appropriate motion that this 
court stand adjourned until to-morrow morning 
in memory of Mr. Sullivan. 

William J. Curtis, 

On motion to adjourn the Court of Common Pleas, 
Dec. 5, 1887. 

The progress of this world and the course of 
the Divine Providence seem to me that the best 
respect we can pay to the memory of an active 
and diligent man when he has passed out of his 
environments here, is that we should go right on 
and complete the work that he has left for us. 
But the course of habit and the sense of the 
people through all time has been that when one 
passes off from this stage of existence they 
should toll the bell, which I understand to mean 
that we should go slow ; that we should stop and 
think a moment ; and it seems to have become 
rooted in the practice of the bar and the courts 
that the appropriate way to pay respect to the 
memory of one who has been prominent and 
active, who has done something to help on the 
progress of the human race, and especially who 
has done it in a kindly and gentle spirit — the 
best way to pay respect to his memory is to stop 
the whirl and swirl of business and think of it. 
If that is the true way, there is no more appro- 



Memorial Tributes. 115 

priate occasion for doing that than this. I had 
the honor of knowing Mr. Sullivan for a good 
while; at the bar he was diligent, intelligent, 
and faithful. In society by his gentle and happy 
temper he secured the respect of people, and by 
his thorough kindness he secured the love of his 
friends in the smaller circles. When although 
as a rule the dropping out of any one man from 
this world amounts to nothing, it is like a drop 
of water in the ocean, yet for the encouragement 
of his fellows, and particularly for the encourage- 
ment of the young men who are following on in 
his footsteps, it is well that it should be seen that 
people take notice of the passage of such a man. 
I therefore, without attempting to enlarge upon 
his virtues or occupy the time on this occasion, 
second the motion that we do now adjourn. 
W. W. NlLES, 

On motion to adjourn the Court of Common 
Pleas, Dec. 5, 1887. 

This is the first time that I have had the 
privilege of speaking upon the occasion of the 
announcement of the death of a fellow-member of 
the bar. I shall not occupy much time ; I only 
desire the opportunity to lay here a slight token 
to his memory, and to say that in all my experi- 
ence at the bar I have never met any man whom 



n6 Algernon Sydney Sullivan, 

it seemed to me I could more safely point out to 
all the younger members of the profession as a 
model ; whom I could more fully commend as 
such, than this one, our brother who has gone. 
I had the privilege for many years of knowing 
him intimately. My acquaintance with him began 
during his occupancy of positions of trust in the 
District Attorney's office, and it has continued 
ever since I came to know him ; and the feeling 
has become one almost akin to brotherhood. I 
knew him at the bar, and recognized in him so 
many qualities that go to make up a lovely char- 
acter; and I am doing but scant justice to my 
feelings as a member of this bar in seconding 
the motion. 

B. F. Blair, 

On motion to adjourn the Court of Common 
Pleas, Dec. 5, 1887. 



^ 






detracts? from jpetospapet?* 

December 5, 1887. 
The announcement that Algernon S. Sul- 
livan is dead will prove a great shock and a 
cause of honest regret not only to his friends and 
acquaintances, who are many, but to the public 
at large, for he was looked upon as a man of 
great ability, of a kindness of heart that could 
not be measured, of a never-ending desire to 
promote such projects as were for the benefit of 
the people, and more than all, he was considered 
a politician who was absolutely pure. 

jReto=gorfc erribtme. 

December 5, 1887. 
Mr. Algernon S. Sullivan was an active 
man and prominent in all phases of social life. 
He was the President of the Southern Society, a 
117 



n8 Algernon Sydney Sullivan, 

Vice-President of the Ohio Society, a member 
of the Lawyers' Down Town Club and the Man- 
hattan Club ; he was the honorary President of 
the New- York College of Music, a Director of 
the Presbyterian Hospital, and a Trustee of the 
First Presbyterian Church at Fifth Avenue and 
nth Street. He was a teacher in the first Pres- 
byterian Sunday School, and active in many 
branches of the Church's work. 

His pleasant, kindly ways were known to all 
with whom he came in contact. 

jftetosporfc Jfreraiiu 

December 5, 1887. 
Mr. Algernon S. Sullivan was for many 
years one of the best known figures in New- 
York. A leader at the bar, a leader in politics, 
a leader in society, he was known far and wide as 
a gifted orator, and his tall, spare figure was 
familiar to most New-Yorkers. His strong, 
clear-cut features, his gleaming dark eyes, his 
short, snow-white mustache, his large head 
fringed with closely cropped white hair, and his 
scrupulous neatness of attire were known to 
nearly everybody in this city. His manner was 
ordinarily mild and affable and his words slow, 
precise, and very distinct. 



Memorial Tributes. 119 

December 5, 1887. 

Mr. Algernon S. Sullivan's death re- 
moved a gracious and unique figure from metro- 
politan life. He was a lawyer by profession, but 
by taste was more devoted to music, art, and 
society than to the dry path of a legal career. 
In the latter he was painstaking, thorough, and 
above all, courteous and eloquent. His voice 
was musical and melodious like his name. Tall, 
slender, and graceful in figure, with silvery hair, 
closely trimmed mustache, he attracted attention 
wherever he appeared in public ; in court or 
on the public platform, where he was heard as 
well as seen, he held this attention by the feli- 
city of his language and his earnestness and 
apparent candor and frankness. 

jfteto^orfc Ranting j^imroal* 

December 5, 1887. 
The news of the death of the prominent 
lawyer spread over the city in an incredibly 
short space and everywhere men looked sad as 
they listened, for few men were so well known 
and so well beloved. 



120 Algernon Sydney Sullivan, 

Mr. Sullivan was to have delivered an address 
before the Sabbath Commissioners, one of whom 
he was, but his illness prevented. He was a 
thoroughly religious man, and with the Rev. Dr. 
Crosby, and others, strenuously advocated the 
enforcing of the Sunday laws. 

December 5, 1887. 

The death of Algernon S. Sullivan re- 
moves from New-York society one of the most 
amiable and lovable characters that embellished 
public life for many years. 

Manful in all his ways and methods, clear 
headed, big brained, and widely read in all the 
realms of literature, he was as tender-hearted as 
a child and as gentle as a woman. 

His law practice at an early age of his career 
in this city was in the criminal courts, but he 
soon withdrew from that uncongenial field and 
devoted himself to the lines of civil procedure. 

As a public speaker he had few superiors in 
this city, and as a whole-souled friend to strug- 
gling genius in all ranks of life, there was no man 
who did more with his means than the white- 
haired, stalwart lawyer, who died at his home in 
West nth Street last night. . . 



Memorial Tributes. 121 

In the Court of General Sessions this after- 
noon, on motion of Mr. Delancey Nicoll, the 
Court ordered a minute entered expressive of the 
regret felt at Mr. Sullivan's death. 

In the Court of Common Pleas eulogistic 
remarks were made by Chief Justice Larremore 
and Judges Bookstaver and Allen. Appropriate 
minutes were made upon motions by H. B. 
Townsend, N. Quackenboss, George W. Cottrell, 
and John Clinton Gray. 

Mr. Sullivan's death was a great shock to the 
profession, many of whom had seen him only a 
few days since. 

JBetosgorit ®bemn]j Post 
Tributes to his Memory in Court. 
December 5, 1887. 
In Part Second of the Court of General Ses- 
sions this morning, Assistant District Attorney 
Nicoll addressed Judge Cowing, who was pre- 
siding, and said he had a motion to make which 
may be deemed appropriate. Continuing, Mr. 
Nicoll said: a We were all greatly surprised 
this morning at the announcement of the death 
of a well-known member of the bar and an 
officer of this Court, one who enjoyed the confi- 
dence and respect and love of the entire com- 
16 



122 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

munity. I need scarcely say I refer to Mr. AL- 
GERNON S. Sullivan, who came to this city 
many years ago, bringing with him an enviable 
reputation as an orator and as a lawyer. 

" He was the trusted Assistant District Attor- 
ney of Garvin, and afterwards filled the office of 
Public Administrator. He was a man whose 
character shed luster on his profession, and his 
death is a calamity to this community. 

" I therefore move that an appropriate minute 
be made upon the records of this Court in recog- 
nition of his services and as a mark of respect 
for his character. " 

" Judge Cowing: The motion made by Mr. 
Nicoll is one that is eminently proper. I knew 
Mr. Sullivan well. He was an able lawyer and 
a kind-hearted gentleman, who was beloved by 
the whole community. He passed away very 
suddenly. It seems but as yesterday that I met 
him on Broadway and shook him by the hand; 
that was only a few days ago, and he seemed in 
the best of health. 

"An appropriate minute will be entered on the 
records of this Court in recognition of his ser- 
vices both as a member of the bar and an 
officer of the court." 

All the branches of the Court of Common 
Pleas were adjourned to-day on account of the 



Memorial Tributes. 123 

death of Algernon S. Sullivan. Motions were 
made for the adjournment by H. P. Townsend, 
Edward N. Quackenboss, George W. Cottrell, 
and John Clinton Gray. In granting the mo- 
tions, Chief Justice Larremore and Judges Book- 
staver and Allen made appropriate remarks. 
Judge Larremore testified to a strong personal 
friendship with Mr. Sullivan, and Judge Book- 
staver feelingly referred to the eulogy on Aaron 
J. Vanderpool delivered a few weeks ago before 
him by Mr. Sullivan, who was then in excellent 
health. 

Jf3eto#orfe ^Rati anil ©flpresa* 

December 5, 1887. 

The news of the death of Mr. Algernon S. 
Sullivan comes as a sad surprise to those who 
knew him best, for it was but a few days since 
he was one of the conspicuous figures at the 
annual Chamber of Commerce dinner, and 
looked as though he might last for twenty years 
more of high and noble activities. 

Mr. Sullivan will be greatly missed in many 
large circles, professional, social, artistic, and 
religious. He was always ready to lend the aid 
of his quick and tender Christian sensibilities 
and sympathies, and he was a cheerful and 



124 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

enthusiastic helpful power in many different 
quarters. 

Mr. Sullivan was very earnest, decided, and 
outspoken in his convictions, whether political, 
religious, or otherwise, but his invariable courtesy 
and carefulness of statement, his clear apprecia- 
tion of the rights of other men to opinions 
opposed to his own, and his genial manner cap- 
tured the confidence and won the good will of 
his bitterest political and professional opponents. 



JReto^orit Commercial aitoertiser* 

December 5, 1887. 

Mr. Sullivan stood in the front rank of his 
profession in this city. He was at one time 
Public Administrator. As a public speaker with 
a felicitous diction and graceful presence he had 
few peers at the bar ; but his popularity was even 
greater than his shining abilities. Although he 
was in no sense a politician, he was a public- 
spirited man and took the keenest interest in 
the economic questions of the day. 

In the earlier part of the summer he spoke 
at the opening of the Consolidated Exchange, 
warning his hearers against the growing power 
of Trust combinations. 



Memorial Tributes. 125 

Mr. Sullivan was a gentleman with manners 
of the old school, but at the same time was one 
of the most democratic of men. 



December 5, 1887. 

The news of Mr. Sullivan's death, the well- 
known lawyer, was received with expressions of 
sorrow throughout the city. Few men were 
better known or more highly respected than he. 
At no time during his busy life did he consider 
that he could not devote a portion of his time to 
charitable objects. 

The remains were to-day placed in the front 
parlor of his residence No. 16 West nth Street, 
and only a few of the most intimate friends of 
the family were permitted to look at him. All 
day long carriages rolled up to the residence 
bearing relatives and friends who called to tender 
their sympathy, and many simply sent in their 
cards or brief notes of condolence, and a large 
number of dispatches were received from out-of- 
town friends. 

A large number of lawyers and friends have 
called during the day to express their sympathy. 



126 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

Boston ©tafce, 

December 5, 1887. 
Algernon S. Sullivan, one of New- York's 
best-known lawyers, is dead. The announce- 
ment will prove a great shock not only to his 
friends, who are many, but to the public at large, 
for he was looked upon as a man of great ability, 
of a kindness of heart that could not be mea- 
sured, of a never-ending desire to promote such 
projects as were for the benefit of the people, 
and more than all, he was considered a politician 
who was absolutely pure. 

^Sojston 3f0ttntal* 

December 5, 1887. 
Mr. Algernon S. Sullivan, age 60, died 
suddenly at his home in New- York last evening. 
He was a prominent Democrat and one of the 
best-known men in that city. 

Beto#orft &viUnt> 

December 6, 1887. 
The death of Algernon S. Sullivan will 
be very sincerely regretted by all who knew that 
honorable and upright citizen. Always genial 



Memorial Tributes. 127 

and courteous in his demeanor, an effective 
orator, whether pleading at the bar or entertain- 
ing a social gathering, a true and sympathizing 
friend, he was well fitted to be a universal favor- 
ite. Everybody liked him, and his loss will be 
felt in his profession and in the many circles in 
which he moved. 

Mr. Sullivan was a man of large benevolence, 
and many who were the recipients of his favor 
will especially deplore his unexpected demise. 
His death is indeed a public loss. 

JI3eto#orfe aSSorfir, 

December 6, 1887. 
There is a universal feeling of sadness pre- 
vailing in this city over the death of ALGERNON 
S. Sullivan, and telegrams of condolence have 
been received by the bereaved family from all 
parts of the country. . . Down town the 
feeling of sorrow was widespread. . . A 
waiter in the Astor House paid him a tribute, 
saying, " He was a great enough man to be able 
to treat those below him with respect." 



128 Algernon Sydney Sullivan, 



The Bench and the Bar are loud in 

their Praises of the late Algernon 

S. Sullivan. 

December 6, 1887. 

The announcement yesterday of the sudden 
death of Mr. Sullivan, the well-known lawyer, 
was a great shock to the members of the New- 
York bar. 

Mr. Sullivan's brilliant talents, the fairness he 
always evinced toward his legal opponents, and 
the charm of his manners had gained for him a 
popularity both on the bench and at the bar, 
which has rarely been equaled in the city. Of 
uncommon appearance, kind and frank, he was 
always welcomed by the Court in any case in 
which he appeared, because it was felt that his 
learning, ability, and absolute truthfulness would 
assist the Court in the trial of any question of 
law and fact with which it had to deal. 

He was of great equipoise and absolutely 
master of himself, so that his life was free from 
petty bickering or unrest. 



Memorial Tributes. 129 

I3eto#crft §>tar. 

Mourning in the City for Algernon S. 
Sullivan. 

December 6, 1887. 

The announcement of the death of Alger- 
non S. Sullivan, the well-known lawyer, was 
received with expressions of profound sorrow, 
not alone in legal circles, but by the entire busi- 
ness and social community. He was promi- 
nently identified with many charitable and 
humane enterprises, and few men were better 
known or more highly respected than he. His 
social life was as brilliant as his legal career, and 
his taste for art, music, and the drama afforded 
enjoyable relaxation from the dry details of law 
and politics. 

Mr. Sullivan's tall, slender, graceful figure, 
his white hair and silvery mustache attracted 
attention wherever he went. In the parlor, on 
the rostrum, his eloquence, candor, and frank- 
ness commanded attention. His sweet, musical 
voice and the felicity of his language were a 
matter of common remark, and early in his 
residence here he became known as the " silvery- 
voiced orator from Ohio." 



17 



130 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

December 6, 1887. 

In the death of the late Algernon S. Sul- 
livan, the bar of New-York has lost one of its 
most eloquent orators and the country one of its 
most distinguished and loyal citizens. The great 
respect in which Mr. Sullivan was held was 
plainly shown by the sympathy that has been 
extended on all sides. All day long the offices 
of Sullivan & Cromwell were filled with promi- 
nent lawyers and leading citizens, who had 
called to express their condolence with the mem- 
bers of the firm. At Mr. Sullivan's late home 
in West nth Street many friends called. The 
majority of the Courts took formal notice by 
adjournment or motions that the death be re- 
corded on the Court minutes. 

Scores of telegrams and letters were received, 
both at the house and at the office of the firm, 
from all parts of the country and all classes of 
men. 

December 6, 1887. 
The late Algernon S. Sullivan was one 
of the kindest hearted men I ever knew, said 



Memorial Tributes. 131 

one of his law partners to a Telegram reporter 
yesterday. If he had not been so liberal with 
his money he would have died a millionaire. 
He was continually beset by pensioners upon 
his bounty and time, and again I have known 
him to give away or lend all the ready cash he 
had in his pockets, and then when he wanted to 
use some money for himself he would have to 
borrow of me or draw from his bank. Although 
he had a large number of wealthy clients, he had 
many poor ones also, and it was no uncommon 
thing for him to spend his time talking to a 
poor laborer about some petty legal point and 
keep clients who had big cases waiting for an 
audience. He was one of the old-fashioned 
lawyers who thought a great deal more of his 
profession than he did of dollars and cents. 



49 Avenue de l'Opera, Paris. 

December 6, 1887. 
Mr. Algernon S. Sullivan, one of the 
best-known figures in New- York circles of law, 
politics, and society, died last night after a brief 
illness. He was sixty years of age. 



132 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

December 7, 1887. 
There is a particularly kind reminiscence of 
the late Mr. Algernon S. Sullivan on the 
Produce Exchange. On May 6, 1884, when the 
new building was to be opened with great cere- 
mony, Senator Evarts was to have been the 
orator. At eleven o'clock on that day the 
Senator send word that he had an illness which 
would prevent his carrying out his part of the 
programme. The committee was agitated and 
flew after Mr. Sullivan and asked him to take 
the Senator's place. The ceremonies were to 
begin at two o'clock. Mr. Sullivan got excused 
from other duties, and at two o'clock he appeared 
on the platform to deliver the oration. In ap- 
preciation of Mr. Sullivan's kindness the man- 
agers voted him the privilege of the floor for 
his lifetime, and when he died the flag was run 
up at half-mast. 

December 7, 1887. 
The funeral of Algernon S. Sullivan will 
take place to-morrow morning at ten o'clock 
from the First Presbyterian Church, Fifth 



Memorial Tributes, 133 

Avenue and nth Street. The Rev. Richard D. 
Harlan will conduct the services. The pall- 
bearers will be the Hon. Abram S. Hewitt, 
Judge John R. Brady, Judge Edward Patterson, 
Surrogate Daniel G. Rollins, James C. Carter, 
Joseph H. Choate, William Moir, John H. 
Flagler, Andrew G. Dickinson, and John A. 
Hardenburg. 

The Southern Society will furnish a guard of 
honor, and deputations will be present from the 
Archaeological and Numismatic Society, the Bar, 
the Produce Exchange, the Faculty of the College 
of Pharmacy, the New- York College of Music, 
and the Ohio Society. 

December 7, 1887. 
At a special meeting of the Ohio Society at 
its rooms, No. 236 Fifth Avenue, last evening, 
Gen. Thomas Ewing, the President, announced 
the death of Algernon S. Sullivan, one of 
the Vice-Presidents, and pronounced a touching 
eulogy upon his life and character. Gen. Wager 
Swayne also paid a glowing tribute to the mem- 
ory of Mr. Sullivan. Judge Warren Higby, C. 
C. Shayne, and Col. C. W. Moulton bore testi- 
mony to the dead man's remarkable talents and 



134 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

qualities in well-chosen words, after which the 
resolution was adopted unanimously. 

The following members were appointed a 
committee to attend the funeral: President 
Thomas Ewing ; Vice-Presidents Whitelaw Reid, 
L. Strong, and Gen. Wager Swayne; Secretary 
Homer Lee ; Recording Secretary John Q. 
Mitchell; Treasurer William Perry Fogg; 
Governing Committee, H. L. Burnett, A. J. 
C. Foye, George Follett, Joseph Poole, John 
Dickson, William H. Eckert, C. W. Moulton, 
A. D. Juilliard, Warren Higby, Jerome D. Gel- 
lett, Calvin S. Brice, Carson Lake, Charles 
Sprague, A. W. Green, H. H. Brockway, P. B. 
Armstrong, L. H. Crall, C. C. Shayne, and H. 
A. Glassford. 

The committee will meet at the Society's rooms 
at 9:30 A. M. to-morrow and march to the church. 

December 6, 1887. 
At a meeting of the Southern Society, of 
which Mr. ALGERNON S. SULLIVAN was Presi- 
dent, the officers, executive committee, and the 
following special committee were named to 
represent the Society at the funeral services: 
John R. Abney, H. Bristow, George W. Bee, 



Memorial Tributes, 135 

Hugh L. Cole, the Rev. C. F. Deems, A. J. 
Dickinson, Chandos Fulton, Hugh R. Gardin, 
Douglas Green, Pickney F. Green, John H. 
Inman, J. Fairfax McLoughlin, John C. Graham, 
Dr. J. H. Parker, Dr. William M. Polk, Octavus 
J. Norris, Theodore H. Price, R. T. Wilson, 
Anson Maltby, Frank R. Chambers, James 
Swan, Percy S. Mallett, Gen. John Newton, 
William W. Sharp, and J. McKenzie Semple. 



JI3eto=porfc <Etitnin$ &im* 

December 8, 1887. 
The death of Algernon S. Sullivan, said 
one of the prominent members of the bar to an 
"Evening Sun " reporter, is a great loss to the bar, 
but a greater loss to the community. No more 
just estimate than this could be given of the man 
whose kindness of heart made him revered by 
the poor and beloved by the rich. After a life 
spent in relieving the poor and conciliating the 
angry, it was meet that after his work was done, 
death should overtake him as it did. He passed 
away while quietly sleeping. 



136 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 



JBeto 5>aben journal atrti Courier* 

New Haven, Dec. 8, 1887. 
To the Editor of the Journal and Courier: 

The announcement of the death and burial of 
Algernon S. Sullivan of New-York City 
has sent through the hearts of many, even here, 
a chill such as only sudden death can inflict. 

This gentleman in life was the friend of every 
one who was right-minded and honest with 
regard to race, nationality, or creed. It was his 
pride and pleasure as a lawyer to defend the 
right, and he could not be retained to defend 
the wrong; though he might make an effort 
to palliate mistakes and accord to the law its 
demands discounted by mercy to one who had 
without knowing it trespassed upon its require- 
ments. We have known Mr. Sullivan to refuse 
large retainers when offered to defend purposely 
wrongdoers, and to serve innocent wrongdoers 
without charge. We have known him to answer 
his political friends no, when he thought the use 
of his name would lead confiding friends to act 
directly contrary to public interest. In short he 
stood upon his own pedestal of right and justice 
regardless of the rule of the legal bar to take 
retainers and throw the great power of his moral 



Memorial Tributes. 137 

character and the influence of his professional 
prestige into cases where it would become neces- 
sary to strive to make the court swerve from its 
ermine purity or to so bemuddle a jury as to 
close their eyes to the light of truth. . . As 
Public Administrator of the city of New- York 
Mr. Sullivan filled the place and performed its 
duties for years, and left the office of choice 
rather than embark in the thralldom of political 
methods of advancing party interests and secur- 
ing wealth to themselves. 

No man was more gentle, nor more firm, and 
no lawyer was more believed in and beloved, 
even by his opponents. Respect and self-respect 
went hand in hand with his elegant person 
wherever he went, and they will meet a common 
grave when the earth shall open to receive its 
treasure. 

Though living in another State it was our 
good fortune to be a friend of his and client as 
well, whereby we became acquainted with one 
whose character shone in dark days, and who 
never evaded a duty which conscience and a 
kind heart prompted him to perform. 

GOUVERNEUR. 



138 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

C&tcap jjjnttxt©ttm> 

December 9, 1887. 
The late Algernon S. Sullivan of New- 
York, distinguished lawyer, just man, and good 
citizen, was beloved in life and honored in death. 
He was addicted to helping meritorious young 
men — a precious proclivity. 

Beto-gorfe Press. 

Reminiscences of a Lawyer's Career, 
By a Friend. 

December 11, 1887. 
No better evidence of the life and esteem 
almost amounting to veneration, in which the 
late Algernon S. Sullivan was held, could 
be found than in the fact of the presence at his 
funeral last Thursday of citizens and persons in 
all stations of life, from the highest city dignitary 
to the most humble laborer, not to take into 
consideration the pretty little school children 
who attended with tearful eyes the ceremony 
that finished the great patriot and able lawyer's 
earthly career. Like all true philanthropists 
he never wanted credit for his noble deeds, 
but was satisfied with the reward of his own 



Memorial Tributes. 139 

virtue, the knowledge that he had done good to 
a fellow-being. And now that he has gone 
from us forever, it is but fitting that his noble- 
mindedness and philanthropic generosity should 
be known to the world. . . As a lawyer he was 
one of the finest in the world — distinguished 
for his forensic ability. His presence and char- 
acter as a man gave force to anything he said. 
He carried with him conviction that he was on 
the right side. But to people who knew him, 
his greatest charm was his beautiful loveliness 
of character. He was the same lovable person 
to a poor one in need as to the greatest of the 
many great men with whom he came in contact, 
and no one ever presented himself to him for 
help without having his request granted. While 
apparently and actually as gentle as a dove in 
his feelings, at the same time he was a man of 
very firm will when occasion demanded that 
he should assert himself. He was not combative 
in spirit, but when forced into a controversy he 
was always equal to the occasion, and one of his 
striking qualities was his great moral courage. 

He had the honor of making the motion to 
admit the first colored member to the New-York 
bar, which he seemed to take special pride in 
doing as a Democrat. He was always a friend 
to the colored people of this city and was well 



140 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

known among them. He seemed to charm 
everybody who came in contact with him, and 
while being as gentle as a lamb, was as bold as 
a lion and firm as a rock when in the right. 

3fnitanapolia JfeentttteU 

When the telegraph lately announced the 
death of Algernon S. Sullivan, the public 
only thought of him as the eminent orator and 
lawyer of New- York City. Very few knew that 
he was almost equally prominent in Indiana 
forty years ago in a most exciting epoch of that 
State's history and before he had reached his 
majority, and that he was then affectionately 
known as the "boy orator" and similar titles of 
the kind current in the somewhat effusive West. 

Though Mr. Sullivan ranked high as a lawyer 
and orator, he never attained to anything like 
the national fame which his early friends in Ohio 
very confidently predicted for him. Perhaps the 
reasons may be found in the remarkable political 
changes. When he stumped Indiana in 1846 
and 1847, the Democratic party was in the full 
tide of its aggressive energy, and he was advo- 
cating the most progressive measures Indiana 
ever adopted. When he settled in the city in 
full maturity of his powers, the Democratic party 



Memorial Tributes. 141 

was entering upon its long period of exclusion 
from office as an opposition party. Through all 
the years of greatest political excitement he was 
unfaltering in his political faith; but opposition 
was not in the line of his abilities. 



St Hotus Eepttbluanu 

December 11, 1887. 

It is nothing new to hear of an Eastern man 
coming West and growing up with the country, 
but the number of Western men who have 
turned eastward and caught up with the country 
could be easily enumerated. 

Perhaps no Western emigrant in New-York 
ever succeeded in making such a pleasing im- 
pression on the natives as the late ALGERNON 
S. Sullivan, whose death was announced a 
few days ago. 

Beta-pork ©baertoer. 

December 15, 1887. 

Mr. Algernon S. Sullivan's funeral, 

Thursday last, in the First Presbyterian Church 

of this city, was largely attended by leading 

citizens and devoted friends. His abilities, char- 



142 Algernon Sydney Sullivan. 

acter, and attractive qualities made him promi- 
nent and influential in public and social life. 
His bereaved household have the sympathy of a 
wide circle that includes many who are far and 
near. 

Charlestown, West Va., Dec, 1887. 

For twelve years the writer of this slight 
reminiscence of the life of a very remarkable 
man saw and conversed with Mr. Sullivan almost 
every day, and saw and felt some new amenity 
in his character whenever that character was 
called into play. His home life was as beautiful 
as all the rest, but God and fire-side are sacred 
subjects from the profane gaze, and as his noble 
widowed spouse and son, carrying out the wishes 
of the dear one gone, are said to have desired 
no eulogies to be spoken at the bier of him with 
whose praises the whole city is ringing, so let 
me pause at the portals of domesticity and cast 
a spray of flowers on the lintels to express how 
responsively the great heart of the city is beating 
with the hearts of those within. 

J. F. MCL. 

New-York, Dec. 8, 1887. 



Memorial Tributes, 143 

Algernon S. Sullivan and his 
shining Life. 

December 9, 1887. 
A LEADING lawyer, a leading Democrat, a 
leading club man, a leader in society — all these 
and more was Mr. Sullivan. He was one of the 
silver tongued of his generation. No public 
occasion was considered complete unless height- 
ened by his eloquence. His was a universal 
and cosmopolitan genius. In every department 
of life he seemed to have interest and insight. 
He was emphatically one of those New-Yorkers 
like to point out as representative citizens. 
There is none to fill the vacancy he left in the 
ranks. 






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